United Torah Judaism Chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf sent an official letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday demanding the release of young haredi men who were arrested yesterday at Ben Gurion Airport on their way to Uman.
Goldknopf demanded that they be allowed to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) with their families and pray at the synagogues they attend every year.
"I am deeply saddened that this has happened in our time, and in the Jewish state, Torah scholars are being arrested and their families harassed," he added.
"From stories of Jewish communities in foreign lands many years ago, we have learned how they used to lobby prior to the Tishrei holidays in order to release prisoners so that they could pray in public on the days of judgment and celebrate the holidays with their families."
He concluded saying: "I hope, I very much hope that you, Prime Minister, will help release these people, and at least give them the opportunity to pray properly on Rosh Hashanah."
The call sparked angry reactions against the backdrop of the storm surrounding the draft law. Yair Weigler, chairman of the National Religious Reservists Forum, responded harshly: "We, the reservists, have not celebrated chagim at home for two years and have not been able to pray in the synagogue with our families. Throughout this time, you have been silent. Your Torah is silent."
Weigler added: "While IDF soldiers are fighting and giving their lives, there are those who seek to protect those who are not carrying the burden. We will pray in the field, on bases, and in the reserves. But we will not accept a reality in which there are first-class citizens and second-class citizens."