The two Chareidi brothers arrested by the military police this week were sentenced by the military court on Wednesday for failing to report for army service.
The bochur who learns at the Maorot HaTorah yeshivah was sentenced to 17 days of detention, and his brother, a graduate of the yeshivah, was sentenced to 13 days of detention.
It is likely that protests will take place against the prison sentences by various factions within the Chareidi sector.
The Agudat Bnei HaYeshivos, which is handling the case, stated, “The Rabbanim of the Agudat Bnei HaYeshivot visited the residences of the Sephardi Gedolei HaTorah today and were advised that the Chareidi public will no longer remain silent in the face of the army’s attempts to target yeshiva students in peripheral cities and that they will soon announce an escalation of the public struggle.”
Maorot HaTorah is a Chareidi yeshivah intended for bochurim who are ba’alei teshuvah or stem from a less religious background who are interested in becoming more yeshivish. Some Rabbanim are complaining that the army is davka targeting weaker bochurim. A Rav in Maorot HaTorah told Kikar H’Shabbat, “We all knew that the army would not start arresting standard bochurim from Jerusalem, Modiin Illit, Bnei Brak, or Beit Shemesh who are from mainstream families and learn in regular yeshivos.”
However, the Rav warned that Chareidi leaders must fight for these bochurim. “This is the litmus test for what will happen to us later. Now they are normalizing arrests of non-mainstream bochurim, and when the army sees that it is getting away with it quietly, it will certainly increase its efforts, and then we will see a huge wave of arrests in in the Chareidi cities.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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One Response
Time to take down the streets. Block every intersection in the business districts and in Tel Aviv. Crash the stock exchange. Interrupt all business in the State. Keep it to for weeks or months. Tens and tens of thousands of Yidden hogging all vehicular and pedestrian traffic.