Overview

• Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchok Yosef publicly denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “an atheist” and accused him and Shas leader Aryeh Deri of delaying chareidi draft legislation.
• He alleged that the Israel Defense Forces have disproportionately arrested Sephardic yeshiva students during recent enforcement operations.
• Yosef urged Haredi families to scrutinize any draft-enforcement knocks and to avoid opening doors to IDF officers.
• He threatened collective emigration to destinations such as Lakewood, New Jersey, if Torah-study exemptions are rescinded.
• His remarks coincided with nightly protests outside a military prison where chareidi detainees are being held under intensified conscription enforcement.