From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Ultra-Orthodox leaders call for mass protests against military draft on Thursday
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"
The rabbinic leadership of the ultra-Orthodox Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel Hatorah parties release a joint letter calling on the Haredi public to take to the streets on Thursday to protest government efforts to conscript yeshiva students, which has led to the arrest of multiple draft dodgers in recent months.
Rather than strengthening Torah study while Israel is faced with bloodthirsty enemies, the Israeli authorities are seeking to “mortally harm the world of Torah,” the letter stated, urging the “God fearing” to go out to the streets of “each and every city [as far as possible] to stand and beg the creator of the universe to save us from all our troubles, send complete healing to all of the wounded and nullify the thoughts of our enemies.”
The planned demonstrations are slated to occur three weeks after an international day of prayer and fasting called by the Haredi rabbinic leadership, which itself came a day after protesters affiliated with the extremist Jerusalem Faction held a “day of rage,” blocking several highway intersections in central Israel.
In recent months, anti-enlistment protesters have also held multiple demonstrations outside the Beit Lid military prison, where several draft dodgers have been held, and blocked traffic near Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem.
The rabbinic leadership of Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel Hatorah released a joint letter calling on the Haredi public to take to the streets on Thursday to protest government efforts to conscript yeshiva students (ht @lechathila) pic.twitter.com/noMiwh012Y
— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) September 9, 2025
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