Miki Zohar Opposes Personal Sanctions on Haredi Torah Students

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar criticized personal sanctions against Haredi Torah students on Wednesday. Comparing their treatment to the Spanish Inquisition, he rejected measures that personally harm yeshiva students and married Torah scholars. He said Haredi young men who do not study Torah full-time should enter military service, while rejecting fictitious enrollment lists and efforts to evade service. Zohar advocated a dedicated Haredi military framework that protects religious observance and argued that enlistment needs the cooperation of the community's spiritual leadership.