JERUSALEM (AP) — Ger Rebbe Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter met this week with New York Satmar businessman Yoeli Landau to discuss creating a multimillion-dollar legal fund to challenge Israel’s enforcement of its military draft law, including filing complaints against the country with international bodies, according to an investigation broadcast by Israel’s Channel 13 News.
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The report said Landau, a wealthy member of the anti-Zionist Satmar movement in the United States, proposed financing a legal organization that would represent ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students facing arrest over enlistment orders and pursue complaints before the International Criminal Court in The Hague and other international forums.
According to recordings aired by Channel 13, participants argued that Israel’s enforcement of the draft law discriminates against the ultra-Orthodox community and compared police handling of anti-draft demonstrations with other protests. During the meeting, one participant asked whether, after exhausting legal options in Israel, it was permissible to seek help from foreign authorities. Alter replied that the matter “should be asked of the rabbis.”
Channel 13 said the meeting highlighted growing cooperation between Ger, Israel’s largest Hasidic dynasty and a leading force within the ultra-Orthodox political party United Torah Judaism, and members of the anti-Zionist Satmar movement over opposition to the government’s military conscription policies.
The report drew criticism from opposition lawmakers, who accused the participants of seeking to take Israel’s internal disputes to international institutions. Neither Ger, nor Landau immediately responded publicly to the report.
חשיפה: האדמו"ר מגור נגד מדינת ישראל. תיעוד בלעדי שכמותו לא נראה מתוך ביתו של האדמו"ר – במפגש שלו עם המיליארדר האנטי ציוני מסאטמר, יואלי לנדא, נחשפת התוכנית למלחמה במדינת ישראל בהאג ובקונגרס: "האם מותר למסור את היהודים לגויים?" – הצצה להקצנה החרדית הדרמטית מתוך החדר הסגור. צפו: pic.twitter.com/9qvw4rZFAE
— יואלי ברים yoeli brim (@yoeli_brim) August 6, 2026
Aside from the outrageous suggestion of Mesirah L’Akum (and to an anti-Semitic body), there is no international law which prohibits a country from drafting Yeshiva Bochurim.
Yoeli Landau has once again proved you can be an idiot and still be loaded.
The ICC has ZERO AUTHORITY to prosecute anything inside the state of Israel.
The ongoing investigation into certain Israeli politicians is only (maybe) justified because they are the subject of events happening outside the state of Israel, ie: in Gaza.
Whether or not that is legal is another debate, though equating them doesn’t help this issue.
On another note this is very similar to what happened with Bar Kamtza. A rich man -remember, he offered to pay for the entire party- used his connections to procure an audience with the Roman Cesar -yet another example of his wealth- in that case prompting a war against the Yidden in Yerushalayim.
We know how that story ended.
I have much repsect the way Gur conducted their mass hafganot.
I don’t think ADMOR MiGur would approve & follow through on this idea of Mesirah l’Akum – Bar Kamtzah style.
The ICC Kangaroo court is not recognized by Israel nor the USA, which would create a bigger chillul Hashem by Landau an American filing such a claim.
Sick!
While I completely understand their frustration and desperation for relief in This Disaster situation that the attorney general and evil Supreme Court of the Arabs decree on the religious people, turning to actual Nazi venues for support can only backfire. The Hague and the UN aren’t exactly known for liking Jews whether religious or not
The Hague? What a joke…. besides that it is worthless moshav leitzem, only sovereign countries can bring cases there.
I think commnets are being deleted including my one promoting achdus eventhough I said nothing negative about Gur nor Satmar.
If they go to the Hague they are mosrim. The Hague wants dead Jews.
Creating a fund to help pay lawyers for the bochurim is a good idea; going to the ICC or other internation bodies is not a good idea.
In 1930, the Gerrer Rebbe was on a visit to Eretz Yisrael. He wrote back to his Hasidim in Poland , that if many of them would make Aliyah, they could have a positive influence on the secular Zionists.
Couple legal observations here…
1) The Hague has zero jurisdiction since Israel is not a signee on the Rome Statute. (The icc jurisdiction on the gaza war is something else because “Palestine” is a signee so crimes in so called palestine are under icc jurisdiction. Israel proper is not.) The ICC can’t hear their cause at all.
2) Discrimination is unfavorable treatment in relation to similarly situated individuals under basis of immutable identity like race class creed religion etc. Haredim are actually privileged and favored under israeli draft law. Their argument is upside down. It’s Secular israelis who are unfavorably treated being drafted while yeshiva boys go on vacation in Vienna and Thailand.
3) The ICC doesn’t exist for these kind of cases anyway.
The rebbe’s with all due respect, need consult lawyers before they talk out of ignorance.
What does anyone gain from this?
A
Thank you to the big “frum” magazine that put him on their cover and did a big story to promote him as a person to admire.
In Joel Landau’s mind, the Gerrer Rebbeh is not operating with a full deck.
Something I never understand about the censor I get censored when I say things that are considered Zionistic and antizionistic.
well I hope they are able to stop this anti charadi forced taking yeshiva boys into army.
The only reason they don’t draft Arabs is because they don’t trust them. If they didn’t trust Chareidim they would never draft them. Instead of trying to scare the Israeli court and lefty army elites with trying to make a fund to help Chareidim arrested is nonsense. The court laughs at this idea because they decide what to rule not the hired lawyers. There is a way but satmar is afraid to use that tactic. That is to hold signs in Israeli anti draft protests by the young protesters that read we will spy for Iran if we are drafted. Then they will hesitate drafting Chareidim. No Chareidi group has the guts to display such signs. You can hold signs they would rather die than be drafted but everyone knows it’s a joke. No Chareidi is committing suicide because of the draft.
Money to gerr ???
The gerrer reb is from the wealthiest people in that “medeena”….