A tense night unfolded across the olam haTorah as military police arrested two yeshiva bochurim and attempted to detain a third, sparking outrage and protests in multiple cities.
Two brothers, bnei Torah from the city of Ramla, were taken from their home overnight by the military police for the crime of learning Torah instead of serving in the army.
The brothers, Nehorai and Eliyahu Yaakovov, aged 18½ and 24, are talmidim of Yeshivas Kol Eliyahu and Shuva Yisrael, led by Rav Y. Pinto. Both were transferred to a military prison.
At the same time, in Be’er Sheva, military police attempted to arrest a talmid from Yeshivas Or HaChaim on Akzin Street. The family refused to open the door, and neighbors along with local bnei Torah quickly gathered at the scene, confronting the soldiers. Following heated clashes, the military forces retreated and the arrest was called off.
MK Meir Porush condemned the arrests in strong terms: “Also tonight, the attorney general sent the military police to arrest young men whose only crime is that Torasan umnasam. For months, this draconian campaign against the olam haTorah has failed to achieve its goals, yet she refuses to admit failure and continues to push the Jewish nation toward civil war. The letter signed yesterday, at my initiative, by members of Knesset from across the political spectrum, opposing the arrests of yeshiva students — including a chosson and a yasom — shows that the majority of the nation rejects this aggressive approach toward the Torah world. It’s time to stop before it’s too late.”
The joint letter referenced by Porush was sent Tuesday night, following two previous arrests that had already shaken the Torah community. The letter, signed by MKs from several parties, protested the ongoing detention of chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani, who was arrested during his sheva brachos, and yasom Ariel Rosenzweig, taken into custody during shivah for his father.
In their statement, the signatories wrote: “We, the undersigned members of Knesset and government ministers, protest the arrests of chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani and yasom Ariel Rosenzweig as part of the attorney general’s campaign of arrests following the unresolved status of yeshiva students. The yasom Ariel Rosenzweig was arrested during the shivah for his father, while the chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani was arrested over a month ago during his sheva brachos and remains imprisoned to this day.”
With outrage spreading and activists warning of a widening crackdown, askanim and roshei yeshiva are preparing for what they say could be a wave of widespread protests in defense of Torah learning across the country.
{Matzav.com}
