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The Sanzer Chassidus is preparing to significantly expand the battle over the arrests of bnei Torah, announcing a broad protest campaign after an avreich and a yeshiva bochur from the chassidus were arrested for failing to report for military service and are currently being held in Military Prison 10.

A dramatic message was distributed Tuesday afternoon to thousands of Sanz chassidim across Israel, calling on them to prepare for what organizers described as a determined and far-reaching campaign on behalf of the two detainees.

The avreich, who was arrested last Friday, is the father of two young children and a grandson of the late Sanzer Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Eliyahu Shemerler, zt”l, as well as the late Stropkover Rebbe, zt”l. A second detainee, a yeshiva bochur affiliated with Sanz, was arrested Monday night in Bnei Brak.

In response, community leaders and organizers from Sanz communities throughout the country convened Tuesday at Kiryat Sanz in Netanya for an emergency strategy meeting to coordinate a series of demonstrations demanding the immediate release of the two prisoners from military custody.

According to individuals familiar with the plans, organizers intend to stage multiple coordinated protests simultaneously in several of Israel’s largest Chareidi population centers, with the goal of creating a large-scale, organized, and highly visible public demonstration.

The decision by Sanz to actively join the protest movement marks a significant expansion of the ongoing demonstrations against the arrests of bnei Torah. Until now, most major protests and road blockades have been concentrated primarily in Yerushalayim and other central Israeli locations. The addition of Netanya, the longtime center of Sanz Chassidus, is expected to broaden the geographic scope of the protests and create additional flashpoints.

Leaders within Sanz emphasized that they will not remain silent while the avreich and yeshiva bochur remain imprisoned, with emotions throughout the chassidus running high as preparations intensify for the coming days.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus broke with House Democratic leadership on Tuesday in the latest example of support for Israel dividing the Democratic Party.

Hours after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to colleagues saying that he would oppose an amendment to end $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Progressive Caucus, sent a competing letter urging House Democrats to reject the aid to Israel.

“The Democratic Party needs a new approach to Israel and Palestine,” Casar wrote. “The American people are crying out for an end to U.S. tax dollars subsidizing Israel’s military.”

“After the Israeli government has killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza and helped lead the United States into a destabilizing, deadly war with Iran, we are called to act,” he stated.

The House is expected to vote later this week on an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to strip funding for Israel from the 2027 national security and State Department appropriations bill.

Massie lost his primary in May, in an election that focused in large part on his opposition to U.S. aid to Israel. He has used much of his remaining time in the House to pursue anti-Israel measures, including calling to re-investigate the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty and amendments to strip out Israel-related provisions from annual appropriations bills.

The Jewish state receives about $3.8 billion annually in U.S. aid, including $3.3 billion in foreign military funding to purchase arms and $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs.

Massie’s proposal to end most of that aid, which also includes some spending on humanitarian programs, has further divided a Democratic caucus in which support for Israel has become a major fault line and cost several incumbents their seats in primary challenges from the anti-Israel left.

In his letter on Tuesday morning opposing the Massie amendment, Jeffries acknowledged the difficult political calculus that many Democrats face and called for a “major reset” of U.S.-Israel relations.

“There are good faith reasons that will result in members voting in a variety of different ways with respect to the amendment,” Jeffries wrote. “Moving forward, it is my strongly held view that for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change.”

Jeffries called for a restructuring of the next 10-year agreement between Israel and the United States, saying that the Jewish state was “capable of paying for its own sophisticated weapons” and that the United States should support the creation of a Palestinian state. JNS

{Matzav.com}