Of 1,000 sent draft orders, only 48 have shown up so far

Extremist Haredim storm IDF recruitment base to protest drafting of yeshiva students

Military says activists removed, denounces illegal breach of site; at least 9 arrested as mounted officers disperse demonstration, with bottles reportedly thrown at security forces

By ToI Staff 6 August 2024, 5:28 pm Edit
Extremist Haredi protesters break into the IDF recruitment office at the Tel Hashomer base to protest the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, August 6, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Extremist Haredi protesters break into the IDF recruitment office at the Tel Hashomer base to protest the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, August 6, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremist protesters breached the Tel Hashomer army base on Tuesday, jumping over the fence in an attempt to disrupt the enlistment of yeshiva students to the Israel Defense Forces.

At least nine protesters were arrested during the protest, according to the Maariv newspaper, which added that Haredim also threw bottles at police officers.

A live video feed from the IDF recruitment office aired by Channel 12 early on Tuesday afternoon showed that the situation was not under control, with rioters outnumbering security forces, including mounted officers.

A short while later the IDF said in a statement that security forces had removed the protesters from the base.

“Breaking into IDF bases is a serious offense and against the law. The IDF condemns the violent behavior and insists that justice be meted out to the perpetrators. Recruiting ultra-Orthodox soldiers is an operational necessity that is being implemented in accordance with the law, and we are determined to continue to promote it,” the IDF said.

The footage showed Haredi protesters, reportedly from the extremist Jerusalem Faction, breaking into the base by forcing a gate open as well as by breaking a section of the barrier fence.

Reports said dozens of protesters succeeded in breaking into the base.

The activists had been protesting outside the base since early on Tuesday morning. A handful of counter-protesters were also gathered outside, to support ultra-Orthodox men who turned up to begin the recruitment process.

The protest against the controversial military draft for members of the Haredi community, which followed a similar demonstration on Monday, came as the first of some 1,000 previously exempted yeshiva students were due to show up at recruitment offices this week.

Many senior Haredi spiritual leaders have forbidden their disciples from responding to the call-ups and Hebrew media has cited estimations that only a third of the draftees will end up serving.

The first step for the recruits includes a series of medical and psychological tests, as well as a meeting with a screening officer.

At Monday’s protest, several female journalists reported violence toward them by the rioters, in addition to being berated with chants that included the derogatory term “shiksa.”

Haredi activists who oppose military service for their community regularly stage raucous protests in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and elsewhere, which snarl up traffic and are forcibly broken up by police.

The dispute over the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue never reaching a stable resolution. The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists and protests any effort to draft yeshiva students who are involved in religious study.

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life, and fear that those who enlist will be secularized. Many Israelis who do serve, however, say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them, a sentiment that has strengthened since the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war, in which more than 680 soldiers have been killed and over 300,000 citizens called up to reserve duty.

In June, the High Court ruled that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service, and the attorney general ordered the government to immediately begin the process of conscription for 3,000 such men — the number the military has said it can process at this preliminary stage.

Last month, the IDF announced that it would begin the process, and the first approximately 1,000 enlistment orders went out on July 21.

Only 48 recruits

The IDF said late Tuesday that only 48 of those who were sent draft orders had shown up to its induction center in the past two days for an initial evaluation.

The IDF said it made adjustments at the induction center for the Haredi draftees, mostly by only having male soldiers and officers process them.

The IDF also said it conducted psychotechnical tests and interviews that were “adapted to the Haredi community,” instead of the usual tests and interviews.

The IDF is planning to send out a total of 3,000 draft orders in the coming weeks to ultra-Orthodox men. Those who ignore multiple calls will be considered deserters and may be arrested.

The draft orders are the first stage in the screening and evaluation process that the army carries out for new recruits, ahead of enlistment in the military in the coming year.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

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