MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) said Wednesday from a slow-roll protest convoy on Highway 1 that participants are fulfilling a religious duty to protest the persecution of Torah study. Police have deployed additional forces to manage expected traffic disruptions; drivers were instructed to maintain approximately 50 km/h, i24NEWS reports.
MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) addressed reporters Wednesday afternoon from a slow-roll protest convoy blocking traffic on Highway 1. Goldknopf said the demonstrators are fulfilling a religious commandment to protest the perceived persecution of Torah scholars — the latest in a weeks-long campaign by the ultra-Orthodox community demanding an end to arrests of yeshiva students who do not enlist in the IDF. i24NEWS reported the convoy was moving at approximately 50 km/h. The protest follows a series of similar actions documented by The Zioneer: a convoy on the same highway earlier Wednesday (reported at 16:54 Jerusalem), and previous convoys led by Goldknopf in recent weeks. Police have not yet declared this specific rally illegal but have boosted forces in the area to regulate traffic. The protest is expected to continue for several hours, with organizers warning of further disruptions at central junctions nationwide. No arrests or clashes have been reported as of 16:58 Jerusalem.
5 developments
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- DevelopingUTJ MK Porush joins Jerusalem convoy protest against draft-evader arrests
- DevelopingMinister Goldknopf joins Gur Hasidic protest near Beit Lid, police block Route 57
- StrongShas MK Moshe Abutbul joins protest convoy on Highway 1
Source and signal
- Internal intake