Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, a prominent leader of the Satmar Hasidic community, has called on his followers to stop participating in protests against military conscription following the tragic deaths of two ultra-Orthodox teenagers struck by buses during demonstrations. Teitelbaum warned that joining such protests and blocking roads poses serious risks to life, emphasizing that students from Satmar institutions in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Beit Shemesh must not take part. His remarks, delivered during a Sabbath gathering in California, mark a significant intervention amid growing tensions over ultra-Orthodox protests and their often dangerous tactics.
The directive comes after the fatal incidents involving Naftali Zvi Kramer and Yosef Eisental, both killed while attending protests. In the aftermath, a magistrate's court ordered the bus driver suspected of striking Kramer to house arrest, with police and legal representatives debating the circumstances of the incident and the responsibilities of law enforcement at the scene. The deaths have led to increased scrutiny of protest methods, police oversight, and have prompted rare public guidance from senior religious leadership urging restraint.

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