A group of Sephardi Roshei Yeshivos and Dayanim, headed by Chacham HaRav Moshe Tzadka, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, expressed fierce opposition to the law freezing the arrests of bnei yeshivos currently being advanced by the Chareidi parties in the Knesset.

A letter, entitled “The Arrest Law- A Breach In The Walls of the Olam HaTorah!” was published by the Rabbanim on Monday.

The letter states: “Regarding the proposed legislation falsely and deceitfully called ‘the law to freeze arrests,’ we wish to clarify the reality of the matter and the position of the Torah HaKedoshah.”

“This so-called Arrest Law includes the same destructive oversight mechanisms and ‘divide and conquer’ strategy included in the previous draft law, which was opposed by all the Gedolei HaDor. Its meaning is the collapse of the Olam HaTorah and agreeing to place heichelei haTorah and yeshivos under full government control, including intrusive surprise inspections targeting every individual bochur and avreich—with all the grave consequences this entails. The inspectors and those who appoint them will be given the exclusive authority to determine the fate and future of every yeshivah bochur and avreich, as detailed below:

A. Any bochur found during an inspection to have repeated absences—even if he misses only one hour out of the nine fixed and legally defined hours of daily study (9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., 3:00–7:00 p.m., plus one additional hour at night)—will immediately become subject to arrest on an individual basis.

“Through the ‘divide and conquer’ system created by this law, arrests will become far more practical to carry out than they are today. This is because the obligation to arrest will apply individually to increasing numbers of yeshivah students and avreichim, who will now be forced to confront the state authorities alone, as isolated individuals, without the backing of a united community. This stands in contrast to the current situation, in which the entire Chareidi public shares the same status and is united through strong mutual responsibility, preventing the authorities from carrying out widespread arrests or, chalilah, mass enlistment—as even the heads of the authorities themselves acknowledge.

“Within a short period, many bnei yeshivos will find themselves subject to arrest, particularly among the Sephardi community, who mainly live in outlying areas, and as bitter experience has shown, will be the first to be singled out as targets of pressure.

B. In addition, the law requires Roshei Yeshivos to become contemptible ‘mosrim,’ rachmanah litzlan, by imposing an ongoing obligation on them to report every talmid who does not fully complete all of the legally required study hours. The law also requires the establishment of a monitoring committee that will receive ongoing, detailed reports from the inspectors regarding the inspections carried out and their findings.

C. Furthermore, if repeated absences reach 20 percent of the student body, the yeshivah will be removed from the list of recognized institutions, and all of its talmidim will be forced, within a short period, to find another institution willing to accept responsibility for them. Otherwise, they too will become subject to arrest.

D. It does not need to be said that these oversight mechanisms and this system of intrusive inspections will poison the entire atmosphere in the yeshivos by creating an endless cycle of pressure, tension, and resentment between talmidim and Roshei Yeshivah, who will be forced to expel talmidim who are not “perfect” in adhering to the required schedule because of the constant threat of inspections, completely uprooting the spiritual and emotional conditions necessary for growth in ruchniyus and success in limmud Torah.

“It is clear that even if the law is struck down or expires after a short time, merely agreeing to it places a sword in the hands of those who persecute the Torah, enabling them to entrench these oversight mechanisms and breach the walls of the Torah world. This has already been demonstrated with regard to the sanctions: the very fact that they were discussed and agreed to led to their being imposed in practice even before the law was enacted. Conversely, we have clearly seen that only standing firmly in defense of the Torah world, together with strong public opposition to these decrees, has, with Hashem’s help, held back the destroyer.

“It must be emphasized that the law does nothing to abolish the other humiliating sanctions and the denial of benefits currently imposed on bnei Torah. Instead, it leaves them intact, giving the appearance of consent to them—a source of disgrace and indignation.

“We refuse to believe that anyone who defines himself as Chareidi would dare support this destructive law. There is an absolute obligation to oppose it with all our strength! We have already been promised, “For it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his offspring,” and the Holy Torah will protect itself and those who study it. In Hashem’s mercy we place our trust.

The letter concludes: “Signed in pain and sorrow on the Chillul HaTorah and the bizayon HaKodesh.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)