Tens of thousands gathered Monday night in Bnei Brak for a massive protest against the arrests of bnei yeshivos over military conscription, with senior Sephardic rabbanim declaring that if another ben yeshiva is arrested, rabbanim across the city will travel to Prison 10 in protest.
The gathering, held under the banner “Ma’amad Kavod HaTorah,” filled the streets of Eshel Avraham and Harav Rabinov, which were closed to traffic. The event was attended by members of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, prominent rabbanim, roshei yeshiva, and thousands of bnei Torah.
In the keynote address, Rishon L’Tzion Harav Yitzchak Yosef urged bochurim not to fear imprisonment.
“When bnei Torah sit and learn, they are the chosen nation,” Harav Yosef declared. “If they arrest you, go to prison with your heads held high and a sefer in your hand. I have spoken to many of those who were arrested. Ninety-five percent of the detainees are Sephardim. We are living in a racist state. You are the emissaries of Klal Yisroel.”
Earlier speakers sharply criticized the government’s efforts to draft yeshiva students.
Harav Shlomo Machpud said that no threats or economic sanctions would deter lomdei Torah, declaring, “No one has authority over Torah learning or the ruchniyus of bnei Torah.”
Harav Zamir Cohen said that Torah itself provides the nation’s protection, quoting the pasuk, “If you walk in My statutes… five of you shall pursue one hundred.”
At the conclusion of the rally, members of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah signed a formal declaration calling on the government, military, and judiciary to halt the arrests of yeshiva students and all efforts to conscript them.
The declaration stated that “without the holy Torah, those who toil in Torah, and those who observe its mitzvos, you have no right to exist.”
The rabbanim further announced that if, chas v’shalom, another yeshiva bochur or kollel yungerman from Bnei Brak is arrested, they will unite and travel to Prison 10 to daven and protest, while urging rabbanim in cities across Eretz Yisroel to adopt similar resolutions in support of bnei Torah.
Rabbi Moshe Yazdi, speaking at the event said: “The IDF Chief of Staff, ימח שמו וזכרו, sends a soldier to prison because he wore a Mashiach patch. In the army, they educate people to commit the most serious sins.”
The gathering concluded with the recitation of the Yud-Gimmel Middos and Kabbalas Ol Malchus Shamayim led by Harav Yaakov Ades.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
5 Responses
Wow so many of the world’s top names in one place I would have loved to be there
if only these bochers were as brave at fighting arabs as they are at fighting jews.
If only more people respected the Torah like them we would have less problems from the Arabs
To shloime
Please read that to yourself first
The sephardic are more correct cause the Holocaust was the reason of the zionist, the satmer rabbi wrote and said allot that the Holocaust was made from them and they also didn’t save us from it, but the sephardic community was not all in the Holocaust they got that from us, and forcing them to go to that army is no doubt forcing them to become zionist, it is as simple as that, some of them came from communities that lived together with synagogue and yeshiva for thousands years, and they don’t know how to cope with zionist dictum.
But the Holocaust person’s know who made the bad things happen and all the horror, and that it was perpetrator and perpetrated with the likes of the zionist and it is like dealing with a living devil
And zionist have no part or interpretation of the Torah
Where were you or your ancestors 60 and 70 years ago when the holy satmar rabbi, rabbi Joel titlebaum was from the very few Giants that fore saw and foretold us that these problems Will be coming in medinat yisroel. But then you were all dancing along with the Zionist and erroneously believed that there is some substance to their ideology. One of the most tragic happenings to the Jewish people in our times is and was the birth of Medinat yisroel. And now even the most esteemed safardic rabbis openly curse the leaders of Medinat yisroel by adding ימח שמו וזכרו to their names. These same words were once used only for people like Hitler Stalin amolik and now unfortunately it is used for many of the so called Jewish leaders of Medinat yisroel who’s sole objectives is to destroy The true Torah jews living in ארץ ישראל.
this is what we cry for on the 9th of av.
@shloime,
The sefardim lived in peace with the arabs before the zionist bandits turned up on the scene. We don’t need instructions from people aligning themselves with a confused bunch of apikorsim.
This disunity must end. Nothing angers Hashem more than sinat chinam. The non observant don’t understand this but those who learn Torah should. And don’t tell me “it is not sinat chinam because the Haredim are right and the seculars are wrong.” Both sides are wrong! The protests disrupts the lives of thousands decent Jews trying to get to work, medical treatment, family obligations, etc. and the protesters act like animals, not Bnai Torah. And the police respond with brutality like they always do. What did they expect, kisses on theirs cheeks and a hearty yeshar koach. The Haredi leadership has forgotten themselves. REAL Torah leaders show love and concern for all Jews, not just those who agree with them. The GR”A wrote in Even Shlema who are the Erev Rav? The Baale Machlochet. Both sides share this distinction. Sadly, it’s the Jewish people who will suffer because of all their pride and arrogance.
Well one thing you have proven is that you don’t actually know the definition of sinas Chinam
. There’s a difference between a secular Jew who mines his own business and a secular Jew who lives to promote gay parades, desecration of Shabbos, and promoting hate against rabbis and religious institutions every minute of their life. There is zero Mitzvah whatsoever to love such people, on the contrary we pray for their demise three times a day