Approximately 150,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews are expected to gather this Sunday in New Jersey for a massive protest against the conscription of yeshiva students in Israel. The event, titled "Cry of the Diaspora," marks one of the largest gatherings of its kind in American Jewish history.
The rally will take place at Broad Square near Newark, New Jersey, which can hold up to 150,000 people.
The Satmar Rebbe's proclamation states: "A band of tyrants sought the souls of our young men, our sons and daughters, to convert them to apostasy and heresy through the power of the terrible conscription decree they wickedly imposed."
For the first time, rival Satmar Hasidic courts have joined forces, with both grand rabbis signing a joint proclamation supporting the event. Leaders from across the ultra-Orthodox spectrum, including heads of Lithuanian-style yeshivas in America, have signed calls for attendance, while prominent rabbis in Israel have also written letters encouraging participation, breaking from their usual custom.
Organizers are arranging bus transportation from across New York and New Jersey to accommodate the massive turnout.
A joint letter from heads of yeshivas in the United States declares: "It is the duty of each and every one to clear their schedule of all business and come to participate in the rally, and to make the cry of the Torah and the pain of the Divine Presence heard from one end of the world to the other."