United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Goldknopf is leading a protest convoy on Highway 1 with his government vehicle's flashers activated, according to Amit Segal (N12). The protest is against arrests of draft evaders.
MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) is now leading a slow-roll protest convoy on Highway 1 with his government vehicle's flashers activated, according to Amit Segal (N12). The protest, which began earlier Wednesday, is targeting recent arrests of draft evaders by military police. By 16:47 Jerusalem, The Zioneer had reported Goldknopf standing in the middle of Highway 1, telling journalist Aharon Rabinowitz: 'We are not blocking. Because they are arresting draft evaders, we are trying to see what 'arresting' means.' Police have deployed additional forces to manage traffic disruptions, and participants were instructed to maintain approximately 50 km/h, i24NEWS reported earlier.
In earlier dispatches on Wednesday, The Zioneer reported that Goldknopf initially characterized the protest as a 'mitzvah' (religious duty) against the persecution of Torah study (16:47 Jerusalem). By the same time, police had announced they were deploying additional forces to manage expected traffic. A subsequent report from Shas MK Moshe Abutbul joining the convoy (18:16 Jerusalem) was also published as The Zioneer tracked the widening protest. The initial report (16:47) described Goldknopf's vehicle leading a blockade of Highway 1, per Israel Hayom.
As The Zioneer has noted in its background coverage of this thread, the protest convoy has drawn participants from across the ultra-Orthodox political spectrum, with Shas MK Moshe Abutbul having joined earlier Wednesday evening (18:16 Jerusalem). The action is framed by participants as resistance to what they see as persecution of Torah study, as The Zioneer reported on Wednesday.
It remains unclear if police will intervene directly or if traffic disruptions will escalate further. Neither the timing of military police arrests of draft evaders nor the specific number of convoy participants has been confirmed by official sources.
5 developments
- DevelopingMK Goldknopf: Government is arresting draft evaders 'who have done no wrong'
- 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