The Jerusalem-based Edah Charedit, led by Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, has announced it is joining the protest against the state's enforcement of military conscription for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. In a directive published Thursday afternoon, the community's rabbinical court ordered a campaign of demonstrations outside various military prisons across the country, calling to 'stop the destruction.' All kolels (advanced Talmudic study institutions) affiliated with the Edah Charedit have been closed in the past hour as the community joins the ongoing protest.
The directive, published by the rabbinical court (Badatz) of the Edah Charedit, escalates a weeks-long standoff between the state and segments of the ultra-Orthodox community over military conscription. The community's leader, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, has endorsed the call for protests 'with self-sacrifice' at military prison gates, following attempts by authorities to detain dozens of young men and avreichim for evading service. The closure of all Edah Charedit-affiliated kolels marks a significant intensification of the protest, as the community had previously remained on the sidelines of the demonstrations led by the 'Jerusalem Faction' (HaPlag HaYerushalmi). The Edah Charedit represents a hardline, anti-Zionist segment of the ultra-Orthodox public in Jerusalem, distinct from the mainstream Lithuanian and Hasidic streams.
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