Hostages forum demands Haredi yeshiva quit ‘cynical’ use of movement’s symbols

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded on Thursday that an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva apologize and pay NIS 400,000 ($122,956) in damages for appropriating symbols of the movement for its campaign against the jailing of Haredi draft dodgers.

In a statement, the forum said it sent the Ateret Shlomo yeshiva in Beit Shemesh a warning letter on Wednesday night, “following cynical, forbidden and derogatory use of symbols, designs, messages and materials belonging to the families’ struggle for the return of their loved ones.”

The letter accused Ateret Shlomo of “using the forum’s campaign to outrageously compare the standing of draft dodgers to that of the civilians and soldiers who were abducted because of the massive disaster that befell the people of Israel on October 7, 2023.”

“It’s hard to accept such insolence from an institution that pretends to teach the values of the Torah,” the letter added.

The forum wrote that for the sake of the its mission, it owns the rights to various slogans, images, posters, media, quotes, and recordings, including the yellow ribbon and the “Bring them home” posters featuring hostages’ names, ages and photos.

Ateret Shlomo recently mimicked the iconic posters in order to call for the release of its student, Ariel Shamai, who was arrested for avoiding mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces. The spoofed poster included the yellow ribbon and the forum’s slogan, “Until the last hostage” but exchanged “Bring them home” for “Bring him back to yeshiva” and added the yeshiva’s logo.

This use of the forum’s symbols, graphics, and slogans violates copyright laws, the letter said, as well as utilizing plagiarism and false advertising to falsely connect the yeshiva’s message to the forum.

This was all the more egregious coming from a yeshiva like Ateret Shlomo, which receives government funding, the letter continued.

The letter demanded that the yeshiva immediately stop utilizing the forum’s materials, commit to not using them in the future, publicly apologize, and compensate the forum with NIS 400,000.

The forum warned that if Ateret Shlomo did not fulfill its demands within three days, it would take further legal action against the institution as well as its leaders, whom the forum holds responsible for the yeshiva’s conduct.

The yeshiva’s posters were not the first time that ultra-Orthodox anti-conscription activists have tried to coopt the symbols that have become common in two years of rallies for the release of the hostages.

In August, protesters set up empty yellow chairs with pictures of arrested yeshiva students outside an army recruitment office in Jerusalem, echoing a common motif in hostage rallies and demonstrations.

A mass demonstration was planned for Thursday afternoon at the entrance to Jerusalem against conscripting Haredi men, who have long enjoyed a de facto exemption from military service on the basis of full-time Torah study.

For the past year, Haredi leadership has pushed to pass a law keeping its constituency out of the IDF, after the High Court ruled that the decades-long blanket exemptions from army duty traditionally afforded to full-time Haredi yeshiva students were illegal.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.

Ariela Karmel contributed to this report.