Tensions continue to mount as Israeli authorities have stepped up arrests of bnei Torah seeking to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. According to reports from Peleg Yerushalmi, approximately 25 additional yungeleit and bochurim were taken into custody at Ben Gurion Airport over the past two days. This comes following the arrest of close to 30 individuals earlier in the week, with the group claiming that more than 70 are currently being held by military authorities.

Each year, tens of thousands of Yidden from across the globe make their way to the kever of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman for the Yomim Nora’im. This year’s Rosh Hashanah falls on September 23–24, and many have already begun their journeys.

Representatives of Shas and United Torah Judaism have appealed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and senior officials to ensure that yeshiva bochurim are not prevented from fulfilling the minhag of traveling to Uman due to draft-related arrests. However, Israel’s Attorney General has insisted that the government cannot establish any special arrangement to allow those classified as “draft evaders” to leave the country, declaring such measures “illegal.”

At a Knesset hearing on Wednesday, Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, acknowledged that despite these arrests, many of the detained bnei Torah ultimately avoid conscription due to loopholes in the system. Nevertheless, the IDF indicated that arrests may intensify in the coming days as more travelers head to the airport.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)