From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 14, 2025
‘Trump, please save us’: Extremist Haredi sect takes part in rally backing arrested draft dodgers
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Representatives of the extremist Jerusalem Faction show up at this evening’s rabbinic rally against the arrest of yeshiva students outside of the military prison at Beit Lid.
As police and representatives of the mainstream “Lithuanian” non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community — who called the protest — attempt to keep the extremists out, they scream slogans such as “Free the hostages,” and “To jail and not the army.”
One young man screams that United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni is a traitor, presumably for not taking a hard enough line on the issue to satisfy the hardline group.
The rally is attended by around 100 rabbis and hundreds of other protesters.
As the members of the Jerusalem Faction sing and yell, rabbis begin to gather outside of the IDF prison, where ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers are being held following their arrests.
One protester holds up a sign calling on US President Trump to “please save us.”
The Times of Israel Community.