Anti-Zionist radicals harassed a haredi soldier on Sunday when he came to pray in a Jerusalem synagogue.
The soldier, who showed up at the ‘shteiblach’ [small synagogues with multiple prayer groups around the clock] in the Zichron Moshe neighborhood in the capital, was targeted by a group of locals who shouted at him, calling him a “hardak” – a portmanteau of haredi and haydak (bacteria) – and demanding he leave the area.
After enduring the verbal abuse, the soldier gave up and left the building.
Harassment of haredi draft opponents, which surged following the passage of the controversial Draft Law in 2013, has not been limited to religious soldiers. Even senior haredi officials who have compromised over the issue have found themselves targeted by fringe elements.
After anti-Zionist vandals broke into his home, Kiryat Gat Chief Rabbi Moshe Havlin has become the target of angry protests by draft opponents.
Rabbi Havlin, a member of the Chabad Hassidic movement, was a signatory on an agreement with the IDF which provided that 85% of Chabad yeshiva students will receive a two-year deferral for study, before being inducted, while 15% will be permanently exempted from military service.