Military police flee after hundreds block yeshiva arrest

Confrontations at the entrance to the yeshiva student's building

Military police arrived overnight Monday at the Modiin home of a bochur from Yeshivas Ohr HaChaim, led by Rav Reuven Elbaz, in an attempt to arrest him as a "deserter" from the IDF. The bochur is twenty days before his wedding.

When the military police reached the building, a "black alert" system brought hundreds of protesters to the scene. Modiin residents were joined by protesters from Modiin Illit, Yerushalayim, Beit Shemesh and other cities. Roshei yeshiva and talmidim from Ohr HaChaim also arrived.

The protesters confronted police forces attempting to block entry to the building. Some managed to enter and reach the eleventh-floor apartment where the bochur was staying. Police began calling in reinforcements from nearby cities, but hundreds more bochurim continued arriving at the scene.

At one point, dozens of protesters remained on the eleventh floor alongside military police and Israel Police officers, blocking the arrest. In the end, the military police left without making an arrest, and the bochur was released.

An IDF spokesperson attacked the protest this morning, stating: "As part of the IDF's routine enforcement activity against deserters and draft evaders, the military police conducted an initiated operation overnight in the city of Modiin. During the operation, a large number of rioters gathered at the scene in an organized manner with the aim of disrupting the military police's activity, interfering with the arrest, and endangering the soldiers."

The IDF spokesperson added: "Israel Police arrived at the scene and acted to restore order and disperse the gatherings. The incident was accompanied by resistance and significant disruption of security forces' activity in the area. The IDF strongly condemns any attempt to interfere with its soldiers' activity or harm them while performing their lawful duty. Enforcement activity against deserters and draft evaders will continue equally and in accordance with authority."

A senior official in United Torah Judaism attacked the resumption of arrests, saying: "For more than two months, the military police refrained from initiated arrests. The decision to renew them specifically three weeks before the elections is blatant political interference and a deliberate attempt to harm the chareidi parties and the right-wing bloc."

Announcement of the yeshiva student's release and dispersal of the protest (Photo: Yehonatan Shem Tov)

Agudas Yisroel chairman MK Yitzchak Goldknopf responded sharply: "The scenes last night are shocking and outrageous. Police forces breaking into a private home in the dead of night to hunt down a yeshiva student whose only crime is learning Torah: this is a mark of shame for a Jewish state. The persecution of Torah learners has reached its peak, and the responsibility for this lies with the prime minister. We will not be silent and we will not give up. We will fight for our right to lead a Jewish way of life in the State of Israel."

The Modiin incident joins a series of attempted arrests of yeshiva students in recent days. Several days ago, two additional arrest attempts were recorded,one on Route 2 near the Poleg interchange and another on Route 60 at the Eli junction. In both cases, the bochurim were released after protesters arrived at the scene.

Aid organizations report that approximately fifty bochurim spent Hoshana Rabbah in military prison and were also expected to celebrate Simchas Torah while imprisoned in Prison 10.