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| Yeshiva students protest at Prison 6 |
(Scroll down for video) A 19-year-old yeshiva student was the first Haredi teen to be jailed for refusing to enlist in the Israeli army, according to court proceedings.
Hundreds of yeshiva students demonstrated outside Prison 6 in northern Israel, to protest the arrest of the teen, who refused an order of enlistment.
The student showed up at an IDF recruitment center after receiving his first order of mobilization, but ignored subsequent orders. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 14 days in military prison.
The protest is being led by Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, the leader of the Maalot Hatorah Yeshiva in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. Auerbach leads Lithuanian Jews. Rabbi Auerbach is known for his fierce rejection of military service.
Rabbi Auerbach and Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss of the Eda Haredit, ordered the student to ignore warnings from the military.
A., a friend of the yeshiva student, said that his friend was following orders from Rabbi Auerbach.
"My friend was arrested and is in prison for no reason. He is not a criminal, he did not attack anybody. He was jailed only because he wants to study Torah. Is it against the law to study Torah in Israel now?" A. said.
A law that exempted yeshiva students from military service was struck down by the Israeli supreme court.