22 arrested as ultra-Orthodox block roads after military jails draft dodgers
Light rail services in Jerusalem disrupted by demonstrators; junctions closed in Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, and Modiin Illit
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Twenty-two ultra-Orthodox protesters were arrested Sunday during demonstrations that blocked key junctions in Jerusalem and other cities, after the Jaffa Military Court sentenced 12 draft dodgers to jail sentences ranging from 40 to 90 days.
In response to the jail sentences, the Committee for Saving the Torah World, which has been responsible for organizing recent demonstrations against the army draft, issued a call for action and hundreds took to the streets in the capital, Bnei Brak and Beit Shemesh, all cities with large ultra-Orthodox populations.
Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, the leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem, declared, “There is an obligation to go out to the streets of the city and protest for the honor of the Torah that is being humiliated to the ground by the yeshiva students recruitment and their prolonged imprisonment,” Hadashot news (formerly Channel 2) reported.
In Jerusalem, the Sarei Israel junction was blocked and protesters clashed with police who pushed back with water cannon. At least five people were arrested.
“Police units on the scene are trying to open the road to traffic and to limit the impact on road users,” police said in a statement.
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Other demonstrators blocked the capital’s light rail line and services to some sections were stopped. In Bnei Brak 15 demonstrators were arrested and taken away for questioning. Other protesters blocked junctions in Beit Shemesh and Modiin Illit.
The issue is part of a decades-old debate as to whether young ultra-Orthodox men studying at yeshivas should be called up for compulsory military service, like the rest of Israel’s Jewish population. After reaching the age of 18, men must serve for 32 months and women must serve for 24.
Earlier this year, the High Court of Justice struck down a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men engaged in religious study from military service, saying it undermined social equality. The decision raises the possibility that they could be forced into service, a highly contentious proposition with political implications. However, the court suspended its decision for a year to allow for preparations for the new arrangement, giving the government the option to pass a new law.
The Times of Israel Community.