Thousands of bnei Torah gathered Monday evening in Bnei Brak for a massive protest and prayer rally against the arrest of bnei yeshivah and the ongoing draft decree, as the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Yitzchok Yosef, delivered a fiery address declaring that attempts to interfere with Torah study are bringing tragedy upon the Jewish people.

The rally, attended by thousands of bnei Torah, rabbonim, and public figures, was held against the backdrop of intensified enforcement efforts targeting bnei yeshivah, particularly members of the Sephardic Torah community.

Before the event began, organizers prepared for the possibility that participants might chant against Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, following similar incidents at previous gatherings. Organizer Chanan Levy announced that clear instructions had been given to prevent such demonstrations. Nevertheless, several participants displayed signs criticizing Shas lawmakers, including one reading, “Enough of the betrayal of Maran.” The event’s moderator halted the proceedings and warned that the rally would be dispersed unless the signs were removed. Following heated verbal exchanges among attendees, the signs were taken down and the program resumed.

When Rav Yitzchok Yosef arrived, he was greeted by thunderous singing from the crowd. In his keynote address, he called for a forceful public response whenever a ben yeshivah is arrested.

“We will not remain silent. If they arrest one bochur, his entire yeshivah should go to the entrance of the prison and recite Selichos there for a full hour,” he declared.

Quoting the Gemara in Makkos, Rav Yosef said that the protection of Yerushalayim comes through the Torah learned by its scholars, not through military technology.

“They think it is because of Iron Dome. No. It is because of the Torah, because of the bochurim and avreichim who are immersed in Torah. It is because of you that we are victorious. It is because of this that the soldiers are protected.”

He then made his strongest statement of the evening, linking battlefield casualties to government policies directed against Torah learners.

“If soldiers are being killed, it is apparently because of the decrees of the authorities who are trying to restrict those who learn Torah. Instead of honoring Torah scholars with gold and silver, they impose decrees upon them, and afterward they wonder why decrees come upon the Jewish people.”