Dancing Haredi men said to prevent military police from arresting draft evader

A crowd of ultra-Orthodox men prevented military police from arresting a member of the Gur Hasidic sect for draft evasion overnight in the southern city of Dimona, reportedly by dancing outside the suspect’s home in order to impede entry.

“Local residents, who were alert and prepared for the arrival of the Military Police following a previous visit to the home of a community member last week, arrived in large numbers within minutes,” the hardline Jerusalem Faction’s anti-conscription Tzeva Shachor hotline reports in an email to supporters. The name of the hotline, which translates roughly to “Black Alert,” appears to be a play on “tzeva adom,” or red alert, a term used for warning sirens ahead of missile attacks.

“They began dancing spontaneously near the family’s home and in the adjacent street,” the email adds. “Upon the arrival of the crowds, the Military Police officers left the scene, while the dancing and songs of thanksgiving to God continued for a long while afterward.”

Tzeva Shachor regularly mobilizes protesters outside the homes of draft evaders in order to prevent arrests by civil and military police.