A few hours after Minister of Finance Yair Lapid froze stipends to yeshivas where students failed to report for military service, hundreds of haredim (ultra-orthodox Jews) gathered today by the Bridge of Chords at the entrance to Jerusalem, in Ashdod, and in Bnei Brak to protest against the "draft edict".
"Not one haredi raises the Israeli flag, not one haredi is happy on Independence Day," shouted a demonstrator in Jerusalem. "We have a regime that is contemptuous of the Torah law. They have taken the yeshiva students, the Holy of Holies."
"We survived the Inquisition and Hitler, we'll survive the state too," shouted another demonstrator. A third demonstrator said, "We won't go to the army; we're prepared to sit in jail."
At the same time, dozens of haredim protested in Ashdod against the draft. Some demonstrators lay down, blocking the street. In Bnei Brak, demonstrators gathered at Coca-Cola Junction on Road 4, at another center of protest.
The High Court of Justice ruling earlier this week has infuriated the haredi community. "We regret that, this evening, the High Court of Justice judges have joined the persecution of the world of the Torah with a gross intervention in a sensitive legislative process," said Shas following the ruling on the issue.
This morning, after urgent consultations, Minister of Finance Yair Lapid ordered the Accountant General to freeze all funds at the Ministry of Education intended for yeshiva students, in order to comply with the High Court of Justice ruling.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education began cooperating with the Ministry of Defense to cross reference lists of yeshiva students to separate the students aged 18-20 whose draft has been deferred since August. Only when the review is completed will the Ministry of Finance release the funds for yeshiva students who are not covered by the High Court of Justice ruling.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 6, 2014
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