Elad Municipality Funds Controversial Conference Comparing Draft Evasion to Holocaust

On Wednesday, the eve of Tisha B'Av, a conference titled "Assembly of Lamentation, Strengthening, and Remembrance" took place in the city of Elad. The event featured speaker Israel Goldwasser and was sponsored and funded by the Elad municipality along with other ultra-Orthodox cities. The conference drew a parallel between the destruction of the Temple, the Holocaust, and the "persecution of yeshiva students" including the detention of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

Residents of Elad expressed surprise and disapproval over the comparison between the Holocaust and the arrest of draft dodgers who refuse to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. They were also concerned that the event received official municipal funding. In response, the Elad municipality stated, "Even if there is no place for comparison between the historical events mentioned in the announcement, the municipality believes that the persecution of yeshiva students and harm to Torah learners constitutes a severe spiritual destruction for the Jewish people."