The Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem has announced it will hold a mass prayer rally and protest at Zupnik Square on Sunday at 12:15 if a yeshiva student arrested for draft evasion is not released by then, according to a report by ultra-Orthodox journalist Nati Kalish. The protest is ordered by the yeshiva's head, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, after consulting with leading rabbis.
The Mir Yeshiva, one of Israel's largest Haredi yeshivas, is escalating its response to the IDF's draft enforcement campaign against Haredi draft evaders. Ultra-Orthodox journalist Nati Kalish reported Thursday evening that if the arrested student is not freed by Sunday, the yeshiva will hold a major prayer rally at Zupnik Square in Jerusalem at 12:15. The protest is ordered by the yeshiva's head, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, after consulting with the two leading Torah authorities of the non-Hasidic Lithuanian-stream Haredi public, Rabbi Dovid Landau and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch. As The Zioneer has reported, this is the latest in a series of protests against the arrest of yeshiva students who refuse military service. Previous rallies have taken place at Military Prison 4 and at Zupnik Square, including a midnight protest led by the Edah HaChareidis. Hundreds of Mir yeshiva students have reportedly received legal guidance in recent days ahead of possible arrest. The IDF's campaign against draft evasion among Haredi men who have not reported for service has intensified, targeting those classified as deserters (arikkim). The student at the center of this case remains in custody, and no update on his release has been provided by military authorities as of Thursday night.
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- DevelopingMidnight protest rally in Jerusalem against yeshiva student arrests
- DevelopingHundreds of Mir yeshiva students receiving legal guidance ahead of possible military arrest
- DevelopingLeading Shas rabbi to lead protest rally against draft-evader arrests
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