According to sources, a Satmar businessman has offered to bankroll an expanded campaign against Israel’s yeshiva draft law, including a proposal to bring complaints against the State of Israel before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

As reported earlier here on Matzav, Mr. Yoeli Landau met this week with the Gerrer Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Aryeh Alter, during a private meeting in which he presented a series of initiatives aimed at supporting the Chareidi community’s struggle against the draft of yeshiva bochurim.

According to a recording of the meeting, first publicized by Channel 13 reporter Yoeli Brim, Landau proposed establishing a broad legal campaign that would extend beyond Israel’s borders. Among the ideas he raised was filing complaints with the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the arrests of yeshiva bochurim who refuse to report to draft offices, what supporters describe as unequal enforcement of the draft law, alleged discrimination between Chareidim and Israeli Arabs, and the handling of Chareidi demonstrations.

Landau also proposed creating a legal defense fund to ensure that every yeshiva bochur arrested in connection with the draft issue would receive legal representation. He pledged that he and several associates would contribute $1 million toward financing the effort.

The Gerrer Rebbe, who leads Israel’s largest Chassidus and serves as the dominant figure on Agudas Yisroel’s Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, did not respond directly to Landau’s proposals during the meeting. According to those present, however, he also did not voice any objection.

The meeting is the latest indication of the longstanding relationship between Landau and the Gerrer court. In the past, the Satmar philanthropist made his private aircraft available to the Gerrer Rebbe for a fundraising trip to the United States on behalf of Gerrer mosdos after government sanctions reduced funding for many yeshivos.

During that earlier period, Landau also sent the Rebbe a letter urging the Chareidi community to sever its financial dependence on the Israeli government and instead rely entirely on privately funded charitable foundations supported by donations. That proposal, however, was ultimately not adopted.

{Matzav.com}