Preparations for Moetzes Trip Move Into High Gear

As previously reported in Hamodia, the Gedolim have decided to undertake this journey to alert Klal Yisrael to the grave situation in Eretz Yisrael.

In response to the government agenda focused against chareidi Jewry in general, and lomdei Torah in particular, the Gedolim are expected to leave for the U.S. in the coming days for a mass kinus tentatively scheduled to take place this coming Sunday.

As has been reported extensively over the past 10 months, the government has instituted a drastic program targeting the chareidi community. Yeshivos, kollelim and chareidi schools have seen their budgets slashed by more than half; steep cuts in the child allowances were instituted, aimed at larger families; the Education Ministry is fighting to set the curriculum and take over the administration of the independent chareidi education system; all government programs are being worded with criteria that guarantee discrimination against the chareidi community; and a wave of legislation to undermine the status quo in place since the establishment of the state has been presented.

Above all, the government is on the verge of passing a law to draft yeshivah students into the army. Those who will insist on continuing to learn will be slapped with financial- and perhaps even criminal-sanctions, including imprisonment.

As of Sunday evening, a venue for the mass gathering had not yet been finalized.

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the December 23rd, 2013 edition of Hamodia.