Haredi protest in Jaffa
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Haredim protest arrest of female military defector
Dozens of members of the radical Jerusalem Faction congregate outside Jaffa military court to protest continued detention of female defector, with activists calling police 'Nazis'.
Dozens of Haredim belonging to a radical fringe sect congregated outside the military court in Jaffa on Thursday afternoon to protest against the arrest of an IDF female defector.
Arriving on buses from Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, the protesters also compared Israel to North Korea, while waving signs that read: “Release the girl of Israel, Chen Bat Sara, who is sitting in prison because she has no desire to draft into the IDF.”
The case was being discussed inside the court during the time of the relatively small demonstration.
The participants from the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction carried placards protesting against the girl’s continued arrest.
Jerusalem Faction Haredim protest in Jaffa (צילום: מוטי קמחי)
“It’s immoral to draft women,” “choose death over female conscription”, were among the signs being waved, while some protesters shouted abusive slogans, including “Nazis” at soldiers and policemen at the scene.
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Arriving on buses from Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, the protesters also compared Israel to North Korea, while waving signs that read: “Release the girl of Israel, Chen Bat Sara, who is sitting in prison because she has no desire to draft into the IDF.”
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
A heavy police presence was deployed to the scene to enable the protest to take place. The forces also thwarted an attempt by the crowds to damage the fence outside the military court’s compound.
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
“There is a medical recommendation to release her from military service,” said the soldier’s lawyer, Miri Yaakov Gavish.
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
“As a matter of principle, they should have held a hearing by a religious committee in two weeks, but since this is a medical matter, it is now redundant,” Gavish said. “She will be released from prison in another week and a half.”
