Arbus with soldier exiting hearing
Photo: Yoav Zitun
Protestors: Har Bracha students pressured to leave yeshiva
Soldier discharged for insubordination protests students' transfer from yeshiva ousted from hesder
Friends and family members of students at the Har Bracha yeshiva protested outside Tel Hashomer recruitment base Wednesday.
The base is set to host a hearing for soldiers belonging to the yeshiva following Defense Minister Ehud Barak's decision to cancel its
arrangement with the army.
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The demonstration was led by 22-year old Aryeh Arbus, one of the two soldiers who hung up a sign of protest against the evacuation of West Bank settlements during a ceremony held in honor of soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion at the Western Wall a few months ago.
The two soldiers were sentenced to jail time, but received praise from right-wing organizations. Arbus was discharged from the IDF after refusing to express regret for his actions.
The 30 students present at the hearing in Tel Hashomer were asked to decide whether they wished to transfer to another one of the hesder yeshivas in order to benefit from their arrangement with the army, or enter standard military service of three years.
Arbus, who has fast become one of the settlers' prize spokesmen, brought signs to the protest that say, "Remove politics from the army", "An army fights enemies, not friends", and "Be strong, soldiers of Har Bracha". He and his friends handed out candy to passers-by and conferred with the students emerging from the hearing.
In an interview with Ynet Arbus said his friends were under "great pressure" to leave the yeshiva. "But they would prefer prison," he said. "The army has purposefully chosen to hijack this issue on the eve of Passover. It is engaging in a political game and using them as pawns."
