After Wave of Arrests: Yeshiva Bochurim in Safe Houses, Parents in Panic

 WE ARE GOING TO WITNESS EXTREME PANIC PRE ELECTION FUROR UNTIL SOMETHING “HAPPENS”!

COULD POLICE PHONES BE PRE-SET TO SAY “DRAFT DOGER” FOR ANY BNEI YESHIVA STOPPED?? Even a Rabbi? Even a female?

Every year, thousands of bnei yeshivos head home for the Shabbos following Shavuos after weeks of intense Torah learning for a short “mini break” before the continuation of the zeman.

But this past Shabbos will be remembered as one of the most tense and turbulent in recent years. Chareidi neighborhoods were filled with a deep sense of unease following a wave of arrests of yeshiva bochurim and avreichim by police officers on Friday, who then transferred them directly to the military police.

According to reports obtained by B’Chadrei Chareidim, fears of surprise police raids led to an extraordinary wave of solidarity among Chareidim. In many neighborhoods — including ones not usually considered extremist strongholds — dozens of families volunteered on Friday to host bochurim for Shabbos so they would not sleep at their registered home addresses.

“Parents are terrified that military police will knock on their doors in the middle of the night and drag their sons away,” one resident said. “Bochurim spent the nights in nearby apartments, avoiding their official addresses. Every knock on the door startled entire families.”

The fear also penetrated the walls of the yeshivos themselves. At one prominent yeshiva in Jerusalem, a line of private cars was seen outside the building on Friday. Concerned parents arrived en masse to collect their sons directly from the yeshiva, instructing them not to travel by public transportation or hitchhike — methods of travel that had suddenly become potential arrest traps.

Just hours before Shabbos, several dramatic arrest incidents intensified the crisis between the Chareidi public and law enforcement authorities.

In the first incident, a Belzer avreich was arrested in Kiryat Gat after arriving at a police station to file a complaint. However, despite the fact that the avreich had come to the station solely to assist officers and verify testimony related to a fight he had witnessed, he was arrested as a draft evader and handed over to the military police.

Attorney Shlomo Hadad, representing the avreich on behalf of the Notnim Gav organization, said the arrest directly contradicted the directive issued by Police Commissioner Danny Levy, according to which a Chareidi who comes to file a complaint or seek police assistance should not be detained because of draft-status issues.

The arrest sparked a major uproar, with hundreds gathering outside the Kiryat Gat police station in protest. The incident quickly triggered public and political pressure, and following the intervention of UTJ MK Yisrael Eichler and negotiations between police and military police officials, the avreich was released minutes before Shabbos.

Following the incident, police moved quickly to reiterate Levy’s directive: “There is no change in the commissioner’s instruction, according to which anyone who comes to file a complaint with the police, or seeks police assistance, will not be detained because of draft-evasion status. This directive is intended to allow the broader Chareidi public to approach the Israel Police and involve it in incidents requiring police treatment without fear.”

A statement from Eichler’s office said: “Through the efforts of Deputy Minister Yisrael Eichler and his staff, who spoke in recent hours with senior police and government officials and clarified the terrible injustice in the arrest of the avreich who came to file a complaint, the avreich has now been released to his home before Shabbos.”

In a separate incident, three Chabad bochurim were arrested in Lod. Later, after large crowds gathered outside the police station, the three were released.

In the third incident, two students from Yeshivas Maalos HaTorah, identified with Peleg Yerushalmi, were arrested on Highway 6. One of the detainees is reportedly the son of the Rosh Yeshivah.

The two were attempting to hitchhike when traffic police officers stopped and checked their identification cards. After discovering that they were classified by authorities as draft evaders, the officers detained them and transferred them to the military police. They spent Shabbos in detention together with approximately 40 other yeshiva bochurim and avreichim.

Peleg Yerushalmi is reportedly preparing for mass demonstrations and widespread protests at the beginning of the coming week.

“The status quo has changed. The game has become dangerous,” a Rosh Yeshiva in Jerusalem told B’Chadrei. “This Shabbos proved that we’ve entered a new stage, and nobody knows what tomorrow will look like.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)