Eight Yeshiva Students Released From Military Prison After Draft Refusal

Eight yeshiva students were released Friday from Military Prison 10 after serving detention for refusing to enlist in the IDF. They were greeted with singing and dancing by dozens of students, family, and friends outside the prison gates. Among those released was Eliyahu Deda, a student at the Orchos Meir yeshiva in Jerusalem, who served 16 days after being arrested in Beersheba. His detention sparked protests from prominent rabbis and the Haredi public, leading to a prayer rally outside the prison. Other released students included Yakir Ralbag (17 days), Itamar Shoker (20 days), Uriel Elnatanov (20 days), Nahorai Dahan (10 days), Yishai Sugbaker (20 days), Elchanan Neiman, a Habad Hasid (17 days), and Eliyahu Ozri (approximately five weeks). The "Notnim Gav" organization held a reception for the students, presenting them with tokens of appreciation. Meanwhile, aid organizations reported that an additional 40 students and *avreichim* (married yeshiva students) would remain in military detention over the weekend. These releases come amid a recent wave of arrests of yeshiva students. Earlier this month, an attempted arrest of a yeshiva student in Tel Aviv was thwarted by hundreds of students who blocked a main road and danced on the highway. During that period, aid groups reported dozens of students were held in Prison 10 over the Sukkot holiday. Last week, about a thousand students from the Breslov Hasidic community gathered in buses from across the country for a protest rally outside Prison 10, demonstrating against the continued detention of yeshiva students and *avreichim*. The event was held with the blessing and leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shachter, the elder rabbi of Breslov.