Shimon Gozlan, a student at the Ponovezh yeshiva who was arrested for desertion and whose arrest sparked stormy demonstrations by the Jerusalem Faction in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak Wednesday, was sentenced to 68 days in a military jail. The sentence will be implemented after the festival period.
Gozlan (23) was arrested during a routine check in the north which revealed that he was a deserter who had not shown up at the enlistment bureau for deferment of army service.
The “Committee for Saving the Torah World” affiliated with the Jerusalem Faction will meet at the home of Rabbi Asher Deutsch to determine whether to renew the demonstrations in the wake of the jail sentence.
On Wednesday, the demonstrators blocked major intersections in Jerusalem and on road 4 near Bnei Brak at 4:30 PM, causing huge traffic snarls and disruptions. Some demonstrators crawled under a police water cannon truck in order to prevent it from moving. After 3 hours of protests, the demonstrators dispersed by themselves and the roads were reopened. Police arrested two of the demonstrators during the protest.