Thousands of Gur Hasidim are expected to protest outside Military Prison 10 at 16:00 today, coordinated with police and planned to include prayers without disturbances, according to the Gur-affiliated newspaper Hamodia. The protest follows Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Tauman Gabbai's call to demonstrate against the arrest of a draft evader from the sect.
Thousands of Gur Hasidim are expected to gather outside Military Prison 10 at 16:00 Jerusalem this afternoon, in a protest coordinated with police that is planned to include prayers and avoid disturbances, according to the Gur-affiliated newspaper Hamodia as reported by N12. The demonstration follows the call by Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Tauman Gabbai, the Gur Rebbe, who earlier urged followers to protest the arrest of a draft evader from the sect, as The Zioneer reported at 19:57 Tuesday.
The protest is the culmination of a rapid escalation that began Tuesday evening: at 17:48 Jerusalem, The Zioneer first reported that the Gur sect planned its first-ever march outside a military prison. Within hours, the story developed as N12 cited organizer E. Herschman confirming coordination with police and a 16:00 start time. By 19:57 Tuesday, the Rebbe himself issued a personal appeal for followers to join. The planned gathering is coordinated with police — a detail absent from the initial announcement — and the event has drawn the direct involvement of the sect's senior leadership.
The protest comes amid a broader wave of Haredi demonstrations against military enforcement of draft laws for yeshiva students, as The Zioneer has reported since early this week. On Wednesday, June 10, Haredi protesters attempted to block the extradition of draft evaders in Jerusalem; the next day protests spread to multiple cities; and on Friday, June 12, hundreds of Haredim confronted police in Ashdod trying to prevent a draft deserter's arrest — though the deserter was later reported not to be Haredi. The planned protest at Military Prison 10, where arrested evaders are held, represents the most direct show of force yet by the Gur sect against the military detention system.
What remains open: The exact number of expected participants is unverified. Police have not issued a public statement confirming the coordination. It is also not yet clear whether the Rebbe himself will attend.
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