Leading Sephardic Rabbis Call for Mass Protest in Bnei Brak Against Yeshiva Students’ Military Imprisonment

On Monday evening, Sephardic Torah scholars and yeshiva students will unite in a mass protest in Bnei Brak to oppose the military imprisonment of yeshiva students for studying Torah. The rally will be led by Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Chief Rabbi of Israel and President of the Council of Torah Sages, alongside other prominent Sephardic rabbis. Ahead of the event, senior rabbis including Rabbi M.M. Maya, Rabbi Shlomo Machpud, and Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon issued a public call titled "Gather All the Jews," condemning the imprisonment as a spiritual persecution and a disgrace to the sanctity of Torah study in the Holy Land.

The rabbis described the situation as dire, warning that the harsh treatment of Torah scholars imprisoned in filthy military jails is a grave offense. They emphasized the religious obligation of every Jew who fears God to protest these measures, stating, "Woe to the ears that hear this, woe to the eyes that see this, woe to us that such things have come to pass in our days." The letter urged all Torah students, yeshiva members, and every Jew with reverence for God to attend the rally, which will take place on Monday, the 14th of Tammuz, at 9:30 p.m. along Eshkol Avraham and Rabinov streets in the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak.

The organizers stressed that participation is a sacred duty and called on everyone not to be absent. The protest aims to demonstrate unified opposition to what they view as unjust military decrees targeting Torah study and to defend the honor of yeshiva students nationwide.