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Photo: Eyal Mor
Haredi Jews protesting a defector's arrest
Photo: Eyal Mor

Haredim threaten to sabotage Jerusalem Marathon

Haredi leaders in Jerusalem threaten to ‘seal the fate’ of marathon through disruptions and cause heavy congestion across the country if police fail to release ultra-Orthodox defector.

Members of the Haredi community are threatening to disrupt Friday's Jerusalem Marathon if military police fail to release a Haredi defector, who was arrested on Sunday.

 

 

The Military Court has set a hearing to extend his remand on Tuesday.

 

The youth has been wanted by the military police for over a year, after he ignored all induction orders sent to him.

 

He reportedly adheres to the words of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a prominent leader of the Lithuanian Haredi Ashkenazi Jews in Jerusalem, who openly speaks against any form of cooperation with the IDF, including enlistment.

 

Haredi protesting a defector's arrest in Bnei Brak (Photo: Doron Cohen)
Haredi protesting a defector's arrest in Bnei Brak (Photo: Doron Cohen)

 

After a series of protests in which members of Auerbach's religious faction blocked main roads and junctions across the country because of a similar case, those chiefly responsible for its orchestration are now warning that if the military court fails to comply with their demands, the community will "seal the fate of the Jerusalem Marathon."

 

The Haredi leaders explained that the marathon will lead to the closing of roads in the city anyhow, meaning that their protests will only exasperate the disruption of traffic.

 

"To prevent disruption along tens of kilometers of Marathon tracks the police will be forced to recruit an unprecedented amount of manpower, and will have to also deal with traffic disruptions all over the nation," they warned. 

 

"If the court decided to go through with the proceedings, they will cause unprecedented chaos. The military court will rule today not only on the remand of the Yeshiva student, but on the fate of the Jerusalem Marathon," the Haredi leaders summarized.

 

The Committee for Saving the Torah World stated that they are addressing this particular arrest especially severely, explaining that "unlike in other incidents where people were arrested at random, this time the arrest was planned by military policemen who took advantage of the boy's stay at home in celebration of Purim. This is an escalation that demands a proper response."

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.14.17, 10:38
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