Thousands in Beitar Illit Welcome Haredi Draft Dodgers Home

Thousands of residents gathered in Beitar Illit on Monday evening to celebrate the release of several young Haredi men from military prison after they were arrested for evading conscription. From the afternoon, a procession moved along the city’s main Magen Avraham Mizrachi Street, with the freed men riding in a special limousine escorted by music vehicles, signs, and hundreds of flags bearing the slogan, “Ashreikha shenitpashta al divrei Torah.”

The march ended with a central rally at the intersection of Mizrachi and Meharitz streets, where a stage of honor was set up for the city’s rabbis and local officials. Among the main speakers was Beitar Illit Mayor Meir Rubinstein, who strongly backed the released men and sharply attacked the government and the security establishment.

“Those in power who seek to harm Torah learners are succeeding greatly by uniting all of the Haredi public behind one position,” Rubinstein said. “They intended to weaken, and in practice they are rallying the entire public around yeshiva students. How dare they harm security when they are trying to hurt Torah learners?” He ended by directly addressing state authorities: “Withdraw your hands immediately from the sons of Israel.”

Religious leaders at the event also called for continued resistance to the draft law. Rabbi Haim Weiss, the city rabbi, said that as the state tries to restrict Haredim, the public duty is to intensify opposition through greater Torah study. Rabbi Toufik Aviezri added that “the attempt to humiliate the young men turned them into figures of honor and respect in the eyes of the entire public.” Some of the released men, including Yaakov Muzri and Yonatan Nitzotzi, also spoke and described their time in military prison.