Eda Charedis Calls On Yeshiva Students Not To Join Protests: ‘Danger To Human Life’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Following the recent fatal vehicle ramming incidents in which two yeshiva boys were killed, and the troubling footage of the behavior of some charedi youths during protests, the Edah HaChareidis has taken responsibility. The Emes news site revealed that in the past 24 hours a special public declaration was distributed explicitly calling on yeshiva students not to participate in the demonstrations at all, in order to reduce friction, prevent danger to human life, and halt further deterioration in the serious scenes seen on the ground.

The declaration was published in advance of Wednesday’s large charedi enlistment at draft centers, which was expected to engender significant protests. The protests against the military draft decree and the wave of arrests have been led primarily by the Edah HaChareidis and the Jerusalem Faction.

With the publication of the declaration by the Edah, expectations are that the number of people participating will drop significantly, with those continuing to protest being mostly older married men. So far, other communities taking part in the demonstrations have not issued similar guidelines, but the expectation is that comparable steps will be taken there as well, in an effort to prevent further tragedies.

As previously reported, about two weeks ago, Naftali Tzvi Kramer z”l, a 17-year-old yeshiva student, was killed after being struck by a Metropolin bus at the entrance to the community of Komemiyut. He had been participating in a nearby protest against plans to perform autopsies on the bodies of toddlers from a daycare tragedy,  a decision that was ultimately canceled by order of the High Court. In a video that surfaced, seminary girls riding on the bus can be heard shouting, “What’s happening to him? He’s going wild!” moments before the fatal impact.

About a month earlier, Yosef Eizental z”l, a 14-year-old boy from the Ramot neighborhood, was dragged under the wheels of a Jerusalem bus (Route 64) that became caught in the center of a draft protest in the area. Eyewitnesses described unusual and reckless driving during which the teen was fatally run over, while another boy who had been clinging to the bus miraculously survived.