Arrest warrants have been issued against three of the grandchildren of Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri for desertion from military service.
The report comes against the backdrop of growing tensions in the ultra-Orthodox community over the arrests of defectors, and in parallel with efforts led by Deri to promote an arrangement that will reduce the arrests of yeshiva students.
According to a report by Mordechai Halperin today (Wednesday) on Galei Tzahal, Deri's grandchildren are not an exceptional case, as there are currently approximately 60,000 young Haredi Jews who have had arrest warrants issued against them for desertion.
Alongside this, it was claimed that relatives of ministers and Knesset members in Shas enlisted in the IDF, without this being made public.
In response to the report, Deri said: "I strongly protest the arrest warrants issued against thousands of Torah students in Israel, including my grandchildren, whom I am proud of. It all stems from the whim of politicians and the Attorney General, in an attempt to overthrow the government.".
Deri added: "It is a shame and disgrace to the State of Israel that Torah students are being persecuted in this way. My friends and I are working with all our might to stop these political arrests and to regularize the status of yeshiva students.".
