Midnight Raid: Yeshiva Bochur Dragged From Bed for the “Crime” of Learning Torah

Another chapter in the IDF’s shameful campaign against lomdei Torah: in the dead of night, at 1:45 a.m. on Monday, military police stormed a home in Or Yehuda to arrest 23-year-old yeshiva bochur Daniel Yasipov, a talmid of Yeshivas Nezer Yisrael in Modi’in Illit.

Yasipov’s “crime”? Remaining faithful to the instructions of Gedolei HaDor and refusing to renew his draft deferments.

The scene was outrageous. Officers tried to drag him from his home in pajamas, humiliating him in front of his shocked parents. Only after his father insisted was he allowed the basic dignity of changing into proper clothing before being hauled off to military prison.

Daniel’s story cuts even deeper. He comes from a traditional family that slowly drew closer to Torah and mitzvos, with his own journey culminating in full dedication to limud Torah. And yet, this is the man the IDF felt compelled to chain and cart away.

Chareidi askanim are furious, seeing through the game being played.

“This is a targeted hunt for bnei yeshivos,” one insider told B’Chadrei Chareidim. “It’s meant to create fear and send a message while the draft law is being debated. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Senior Chareidi officials added that the middle-of-the-night timing is no accident:

“They want intimidation. They want to scare families. This is theater, not enforcement.”

Even more disturbing: every single recent arrest—or attempted arrest—has been of Sephardim, ba’alei teshuvah, or geirim. Not a single Litvak or Chassid was touched. One source close to Shas leaders minced no words:

“The IDF knows better than to storm into Bnei Brak or Kiryas Vizhnitz. They’re terrified of the commotion it would cause. So instead, they come after the so-called ‘weak’—our Sephardi bochurim and ba’alei teshuva. It’s cowardice, plain and simple. And it’s unforgivable.”

The IDF, of course, denies targeting anyone, claiming these are “general operations” in “non-Chareidi areas,” where “naturally” there are more Sephardim and ba’alei teshuvah. But the facts on the ground speak louder than the talking points.

At the end of the day, the picture is clear: the army is trying to frighten bnei Torah, to divide communities, and to test our resolve. The response must be just as clear: we stand firm with our Gedolim, we will not be intimidated, and no bochur should ever be arrested for the sacred act of learning Torah.