Yehadut HaTorah Chair Goldknopf Condemns Arrests of Yeshiva Students as Unjust and Humiliating

Yehadut HaTorah chairman and Knesset member Yitzhak Goldknopf sharply criticized the arrests of yeshiva students who were imprisoned in military jail for failing to regularize their status. In an exclusive interview with Yishai Cohen on Kikar HaShabbat, Goldknopf described his visits to the detainees and expressed deep shock and frustration over the situation. He recounted confronting the imprisoned students, asking them what crimes they had committed, such as murder or theft, only to be told they were jailed for studying Torah. Goldknopf questioned the logic of imprisoning individuals for this reason, calling it senseless and unjust.

Regarding the wave of sanctions against the Torah-learning and Haredi community, Goldknopf said, "You have cut every part of our body, torn us apart, and today we are bleeding because you have inflicted such an attack that today a Haredi Jew is humiliated." He described the community's fear of walking in the street, inability to send children to daycare, travel abroad, or even obtain a driver's license. He angrily asked if any other country discriminates so severely against its own citizens.

Goldknopf's remarks highlight the growing tension between the Israeli government and the Haredi sector amid ongoing enforcement actions against draft evasion and related sanctions. The situation remains volatile as the community continues to protest what it views as unfair treatment.