A Peleg Yerushalmi demonstration
A Peleg Yerushalmi demonstrationHezki Baruch

Several Peleg Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Faction) protesters have been arrested for rioting and disturbances in recent months, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

Most of those arrested were freed within a few hours to a few days.

After their arrest, some of the protesters turned out to be draft-dodgers, who failed to appear in the IDF's Draft Office even to receive a deferral. They were handed over to the IDF and sentenced to three months in a military prison.

According to a report from Army Radio, these Peleg Yerushalmi protesters will not agree to wear the prison clothes all other Prison 4 prisoners wear.

In an effort to prevent future rebellious behavior, the IDF therefore decided to separate the Peleg Yerushalmi prisoners from each other.

The Peleg Yerushalmi (haredi students under the leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach) has organized dozens of protests across the country in recent months over the detention of draft dodgers from the haredi community.

Under Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach's orders, the Peleg Yerushalmi has opposed any cooperation with IDF draft officials, even for the purposes of registration and the legal obtaining of draft deferrals for yeshiva students. Full-time yeshiva students in Israel receive deferrals from mandatory IDF service for as long as they stay in yeshiva, but they must register as does every other Israeli citizen.

Most haredim do not agree with the Peleg Yerushalmi, and several haredi leaders have come out against them.