Ultra-Orthodox Initiative Distributes Funds to Yeshiva Students Jailed for Draft Evasion

In Bnei Brak, a financial initiative called "Kela 1000" (Prison 1000) distributed a total of 147,000 shekels to yeshiva students who had been imprisoned for evading military service. The payments, given on Saturday night, awarded 1,000 shekels for each day spent in military prison. One recipient received 16,000 shekels for serving 16 days.

The initiative is backed by mainstream ultra-Orthodox rabbis and aims to provide financial support to those jailed for refusing to enlist. The event in Bnei Brak was described as festive, attended by rabbis and students, with invitations referring to the payments as scholarships for "Torah prisoners" who endured military detention.

This is not the first event organized by the initiative. In late September, a similar ceremony was held in Jerusalem, where hundreds gathered to honor individuals released from military prison for draft evasion. Financial grants, calculated at 1,000 shekels per day of imprisonment, were also distributed at that event.

The program operates amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the conscription of yeshiva students into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). While security officials are enforcing service obligations, leading to increased arrests within the Haredi community, a scale not seen in decades, organizers of these events are offering financial aid to those imprisoned for non-compliance. The Jerusalem and Bnei Brak events highlight the initiative's strategy to support these young men, particularly as Haredi political parties have struggled to find a mutually agreed-upon solution to the conscription issue.