6 arrested during ultra-Orthodox protest against IDF draft

Jerusalem police on Tuesday arrested six ultra-Orthodox men demonstrating in the capital against the detention of Haredim who failed to enlist in the army.

The protesters blocked roads in the Mea Shearim neighborhood, before police came and removed them.

The demonstration was centered on the Monday arrests of two ultra-Orthodox men who failed to show up at the army induction center to enlist, the police said.

Many in the Haredi community shun the mandatory national service that applies to most Israelis, and the community has historically enjoyed blanket exemptions from the army in favor of religious seminary studies.

Reforms passed in the Knesset in 2014 that sought to do away with the exemptions and gradually increase ultra-Orthodox recruitment met fierce opposition from many in the community.

In December, thousands of Haredi protesters demonstrated against the draft. Several protesters clashed with police, who in turn sprayed tear gas at the rioters.

Rabbinic leaders of the community view military service as a threat to their way of life.

A number of ultra-Orthodox recruits have been disowned by their families and ultra-Orthodox soldiers often complain of harassment and violence by community members.

In late November, the Knesset approved an amendment to the Equal Service Law that dramatically rolled back the 2014 reforms and scrapped collective penalties imposed if annual quotas for ultra-Orthodox draftees were not met.