Rabbi Dov Lando, the leader of the Lithuanian (non-hassidic) haredi community in Israel, delivered the keynote address at the Keren Olam Hatorah fundraising event in Chicago, Illinois, and described the state of haredi yeshiva students in Israel as a "trouble" requiring international mobilization.
Rabbi Lando claimed that "yeshiva and kollel (study halls for married men) students are persecuted by the authorities and the courts in Israel for no wrongdoing on their part," and described a reality where thousands of haredim "can not live like regular human beings are supposed to live" due to the threat of arrest and extensive economic restrictions.
According to the rabbi, many of the married students are having trouble paying to educate their children, and they even "don't have bread for their children's mouths."
The rabbi stressed the importance of Keren Olam Hatorah as a central line of defense: "If it hadn't been founded by generous people here in the United States, G-d forbid, yeshivas and kollels would be on the brink of closing."
He called for widespread donations, claiming that supporting Torah scholars "brings blessings" to the donors themselves.