[VIDEO & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
Chareidim around areas of Eretz Yisroel have taken to the streets to protest the arrest and jailing of a talmid yeshiva who attends the Grodna Yeshiva in Ashdod. The talmid, Yaakov Yisrael Paz, was sentenced to 10 days in an IDF jail for adhering to the words of his roshei yeshiva. He ignored his first and second draft notice.
Protests began around Israel at 6:30PM, and they are taking place in a number of cities including Coca Cola Junction (Bnei Brak), Cords Bridge (Jerusalem), Yishai Jct. (Beit Shemesh), Shilat Jct. (Modi’in Illit area), the entrance to Elad, Southern exit of Ashdod, Shareha Jct. (Petach Tikvah), IDF Prison 6 (northern Israel), Gilat Jct. (Near Ofakim in the south) and Dimona Jct. in the south.
The photos and video below are from Yerushalayim. Although the night is still young, the protests are so far without any violence – instead with a large crowd singing and dancing.
VIDEO & PHOTO CREDIT: Moshe Ben-Naim Chadashot 24
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16 Responses
Hope for soldiers’ sake, night Seder is still strong!
Just wondering in the USA if a teacher, mentor, or anyone with influence motivating people to violate law, if they can get away with it.
1. Most of the people pictured are wearing modern clothes (short jackets rather than the longer/kapote/frock styles, fedoras, some with ties). Those pictures are not dressed like “hard core” anti-zionists. A handful of people in kapotes and funky hats are local color – a large number of people who look modern are a mass movement, and a threat.
2. Arresting people for draft refusal (not evasion) is counterproductive since it gives the opponents of the regime great publicity. It doesn’t hurt the zionists’ image to have religious fanatics who fight tooth and nail for every inch of the West Bank and if anything it improves their bargaining position. It does hurt the zionists to publicize that a large number of its citizens are refusing to participate in the war effort on the grounds that the zionist program is contrary to Jewish law.
3. When first arrested for drunk driving, the kid may have been thinking that he was in big trouble with his yeshiva and his family. Then he was transformed from a drunken “loser” into a martyr.
Then he was transformed from a drunken “loser” into a martyr.—-OPINION PIECE
Puzzled to see so many of those at these hafganos who are committed to sitting and learning doing anything but learning.
Consider – If the Police found a secular individual (drunk, lets say, as this individual apparently was) wandering on the beach after ignoring two requests to present himself for the draft, they would put him in jail for ignoring the requests, not for wandering on the beach. The same applies to the bochur. He is being sanctioned for ignoring the request, not for sitting and learning (which, in any case, is hard to do when you are inebriated).
This leads me to once again conclude that it is not about shmad, it is not about learning, it is not about anything except control. Those who this bochur follows are aware that their ideological, philosophical, and societal control would be challenged even if a national service or army program was created to be 100% mehadrin.
And if Emunas Chachomim is understood and accepted with full disclosure of the derech to all affected, then by all means, it IS worth the political battle. It is right to protest.
…IF everyone involved understands the issue is control and power, and not the ridiculous and insulting notion that it is about shmad, and the denigrating implication that the Torah learning of someone in a chareidi kollel is “worth more” than that of someone who learns daf yomi AND does miluim, or someone who learns in a hesder yeshiva AND serves in a combat unit.
“IF everyone involved understands the issue is control and power, and not the ridiculous and insulting notion that it is about shmad, and the denigrating implication that the Torah learning of someone in a chareidi kollel is “worth more” than that of someone who learns daf yomi AND does miluim, or someone who learns in a hesder yeshiva AND serves in a combat unit.”
AWWW, a point to ponder. Then the passion, rhetoric, protests will have much less spine and dialogue will be necessary. That is a large step in the right direction –
can someone please explain to me( i really want to know) how singing in dancing in the streets is going to help this poor incarcerated bachur? holding up signs which basically say , here i am come and get me, cant be helping the situation …
Those are oddly well-made signs for such a spontaneous protest.
Reb Moishe sternbauch says that these people have no koved hatorah in mind, see article in ladaat
rc: if you were ch”v sitting in prison and you knew there are hundreds of bochurim out there, all over the country who are there ‘just for you’, of course this would be encouraging for you.
and to all others who don’t ‘like’ these demostrations:
Why does israel have to be the ONLY other country in the world – besides for South Korea to force its citizens to join the army? Does that happen in the US, England, Belgium, France or any other democratic country? are you forced to join the army? NO!!!
So no questions should be asked about why we are demonstrating… אל תדין, when the US will force-conscript you, your brother, your husband, son, nephew etc. then you’ll have the right to speak out against these demonstrations.
“even if a national service or army program was created to be 100% mehadrin.”
That means the general, ministers and a most of the kenesset were “mehadrim” — They would follow the teachings of the Satmar Rebbe, withdraw the Declaration of Independence, and sue for peace. If the zionists continue their folly, the hareidim who nearly toppled the zionist movement 90 years ago will get another chance, and this time shooting at the hareidim will backfire since in the internet era “the whole world is watching”.
Those individuals who are zionists (pro-Medinah) and feel that Torah is equally important with soldiering have been joining Hesder units all along. The zionist hareidim (if that isn’t an oxymoron) are not the ones demonstrating. Those hareidi “leaders” whose focued on selling their support in return for patronage have been discredited – they will either change their tune or be replaced by those who stand up for principles.
P.S. The signs appear to have been recylced from the last demonstration. Given that such demonstration will be common, I suspect people will just have them lying around.
agree with #5 – well said
When a shomer shabbos soldier is captured and imprisoned by enemies where are all the charedim then davening and making protest for the soldiers release?
No violence, eh?
Times of Israel and Kikar Shabbat:
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators reportedly hurled stones at vehicles and set fire to trash cans near the Bar Ilan junction in Jerusalem, according to Kikar Hashabbat. A police force dispersed the protesters with water cannons. One demonstrator was arrested.
In Kirayt Gat, three protesters were arrested after they allegedly planned to set tires on fire and block a road in the area. Later, hundreds of demonstrators attempted to block highway 4 near Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel. The road beneath the String Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem and a road into Ashdod were also briefly blocked.
Moderators Note: What YWN wrote was “Although the night is still young, the protests are so far without any violence – instead with a large crowd singing and dancing”.
chilliworker, if i were in prison, cv, i would want the chareidei powers that be, the ones that told me not to report, bechavod gadol, TO GET ME OUT!!!! not sing and dance in the streets.
Setting fires = chillul Hashem, sakanos nefashos, harming others with secondhand smoke.
Kiddush Hashem to override the chillul Hashem = being extra nice and courteous to police officers, IDF soldiers, bus drivers and other workers who have to deal with these demonstrations/fires/etc.
If they feel that Torah protects them from all harm, then let them go back to the bais medrash and learn – not light fires.