Jerusalem Faction Makes Unprecedented Request of Protesters

Archive | Photo: David Cohen, Flash90

The unprecedented request of the Jerusalem Faction from the protesters

Yehuda Aharoni, 36 minutes ago

After years in which it mobilized crowds to the streets, the Jerusalem Faction is now also turning to the protesters’ wallets. In an unusual notice, participants in protests against military conscription were asked to help cover transportation expenses, against the backdrop of what was described as “huge campaign expenses.”

After years of demonstrations, the Jerusalem Faction published an unusual statement calling on protesters against the draft to take part in the costs of the campaign, amid what it described as “enormous expenses” accumulated in recent periods. In the public notice, it said that “the expenses of the great campaign are enormous,” and accordingly the participants in the protests were asked to transfer 20 shekels for transportation.

“Everyone traveling is asked to contribute to the travel expenses,” the notice said, alongside a call to add an additional donation for the sake of “saving the world of Torah.” The notice later said that the payment could be transferred through the people responsible for the buses, while the faction emphasized that this was participation in expenses created by the “campaign” being waged in recent times.

The Jerusalem Faction protest on Route 4, archive | Photo: David Cohen, Flash90

This appeal is unusual mainly because the faction’s notices usually call on people to come to protests, in opposition to drafting yeshiva students, or report on arrests. This time, however, the spotlight was turned to the financial difficulty created by the many protests.

The notice comes in the middle of a wave of protests led by the Jerusalem Faction against the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews, including demonstrations, roadblocks, and organized transportation to protest sites across the country. Now, it appears that the faction is publicly asking, for the first time, for the protesters themselves to contribute financially as well.

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