UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf sent an urgent letter to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz following the arrest of three bnei yeshivos at a protest and their transfer to a military prison due to being “draft dodgers.”
“I was shocked to hear that earlier today, three talmidei yeshivah were arrested during a demonstration in Yehud, at an excavation site against the desecration of ancient kevarim,” he wrote. “The three talmidim were transferred to the military police, who arrested them for…failing to respond to the provocative conscription orders that were sent to harm the Olam HaTorah and the Chareidi public.”
“There is no country in the world where they arrest those who seek to learn Torah and throw them in jail, but, to our shame and deep pain, precisely in the State of Israel, which is a Jewish state, where limmud Torah should be a supreme value, lomdei Torah are arrested.”
“I must express disgust over the fact that lomdei Torah are arrested like common criminals due to their status as lomdei Torah and sent to military prison.”
“I am addressing you with an urgent demand and a request to act promptly to release lomdei Torah and prevent the continuation of arrests that target lomdei Torah in the land of the Jews. This conduct will not lead to a good place and I am convinced that you are aware of this.”
“In addition, I would like to ask you to intervene with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to bring an end to the agonizing and unnecessary saga that we are experiencing and to promptly fulfill your commitment to regulate the status of lomdei Torah.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
I hate the dishonest. They are not being arrested for learning Torah. For example, if someone steals in order to support a kollel lifestyle and gets arrested, he’s not arrested for being lomed torah, he’s being arrested for stealing. The fact that he chose to use those funds for learning is irrelevant to the arrest. So too here, they are being arrested for avoiding the draft. The fact that they choose to learn with the time they save from avoiding the army is irrelevant to the arrest.
Ah arabs free from service and national but still have all benefits of citizenship plus college tuition and everything else. But yeshiva boys CHOOSING TO BE POOR and surrendering stipends and they still won’t leave them alone. Well maybe another war will wake these religion hating pigs up. But I doubt it
There is also no country in the world where tens of thousands of citizens are drafted and they refuse to show up to the draft.