TORA, the Traditional Orthodox Rabbis of America, which articulates authentic Torah positions on societal issues in the face of misrepresentations in Jewish and general media, and includes both Modern Orthodox and haredi rabbis, released a statement on recent anti-draft protests in Israel.
"[We are] extremely dismayed and appalled by the violence, disrespect for the law and the rights of other citizens, and shocking behavior of alleged Bnai Torah [Torah adherents] as part of the protests of the Peleg Yerushalmi [Jerusalem Faction] group," TORA said. "Rather than protect the Torah, they bring contempt upon it and its true adherents.”
“We recognize that these relatively few young individuals who are blocking streets and engaging in illegal public protests are by no means representative of the overwhelmingly majority of yeshiva students who reject their tactics, methods and cause,” TORA continued.
"The idea that Jews would endanger the lives of their brothers and sisters by preventing passage of ambulances and other vital personnel, or accosting Jews on the street and berating them for their alleged lack of piety, is abhorrent to any serious Jew, and reflects an abject lack of piety on the part of the protesters.
“We call upon all Torah Jews and their leaders to denounce these individuals and their violent tactics, uproot them from our holy and devout community, and affirm our traditional adherence to Halakha [Jewish law], decency, and mutual respect for all Jews.”