Sorotzkin Hires a Zionist Horse to Escort the Freed Draft Dodger but the Horse Refuses to Shlep him

 I honestly don’t know whether to laugh, cry!

So here we have Sorotzkin—the international schnorrer-in-chief—who somehow scraped together enough donations to rent a horse and buggy to escort a draft dodger back to yeshiva. Yes, a horse. In 2025.

Now, Sorotzkin had already told the world a brazen lie: that this bochur was jailed because the evil Zionists wouldn’t let him learn Torah. 

What he didn’t realize is that in Israel, even the horses are Zionists.

So naturally, the horse refused to participate in this circus. It stood its ground—probably humming “Hatikvah” under its breath. Then, in a moment of pure desperation, another draft dodger tried to push the horse from behind, hoping to “recruit” it into this holy parade of nonsense. But even a Zionist horse knows better than to be shoved from the rear by someone who has never had any experience with an animal. The horse panicked, collapsed, and lay there in distress.

And the bochurim? The same ones who supposedly learned the sugya of Tzaar Baalei Chayim? They couldn’t care less. Because apparently, compassion for animals doesn’t apply when you’re staging a fake martyrdom tour.

Let’s be clear: no one in Israel is being stopped from learning Torah. This isn’t persecution—it’s a draft dodger trying to spin his refusal into sainthood. And now we’ve got horses collapsing under the weight of hypocrisy.

Yeshivat Ateret Shlomo in Rishon Lezion (a haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, yeshiva) on Wednesday evening celebrated the early release of a student, Ariel Shamai, who served 15 days in an IDF military prison for refusing to enlist, with a horse-drawn procession through local streets.

This display drew sharp criticism from residents and from Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich.

According to haredi media reports, the yeshiva’s head, Rabbi Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, held a welcoming ceremony for the student, referring to him as an asir olam haTorah (a prisoner of the Torah world).

Videos showed a festive reception on the Ateret Shlomo campus in Rishon Lezion, where a horse-drawn carriage greeted the student.

At the same time, posters around the campus carried the student’s name, “Ariel Shamai,” next to the iconic yellow ribbon and graphics used by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s “Bring Them Home” campaign, with the adapted slogans “Bring him back to the yeshiva now” and “Until the last hostage.” The Forum has recently warned Ateret Shlomo against using its symbols in this manner. 

A video obtained by The Jerusalem Post shows the horse pulling the carriage while one participant yanks its reins forcefully; the horse then appears to topple and fall to the ground. Local residents voiced anger over the incident and the celebration.