Haredi anti-draft protesters block highway; driver arrested for hitting teen

Hundreds of Haredi protesters blocked a major highway east of Tel Aviv Monday evening, jamming commuters during rush hour, including a driver who attempted to ram through the demonstrators, injuring a teen.

The gathering was the latest of a series of demonstrations by members of the ultra-Orthodox community to protest attempts by the Israel Defense Forces to enforce mandatory military draft orders.

The protest took place on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, a major Haredi city adjacent to Tel Aviv. Police declared the demonstration illegal but did not disperse its participants for several hours, instead closing off traffic in both directions and guiding traffic to alternate routes.

The highway was later cleared and reopened to traffic.

The protest was organized by the extremist Jerusalem Faction, a Haredi group known for staging fiery demonstrations against the draft, in response to the Friday arrest of an 18-year-old yeshiva student, Maor Vazana, who ignored his IDF conscription order.

Demonstrators sat on the asphalt, blocking cars from passing by, as others danced and sang on the street. Some were seen arguing with drivers who later exited their vehicles.

One driver, seemingly angry at the blocked traffic, drove high speed into the crowd, moderately injuring a 16-year-old, police said.

Officers at the scene chased after the driver, a 24-year-old resident of Bnei Brak, and arrested him a short while later.

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The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with trauma to his head and limbs, the Magen David Adom emergency services said.

Police added that they managed to stop a motorcyclist from driving into the crowd after the initial incident. They detained the driver, a 37-year-old resident of Herzliya.

Both were transferred for questioning at a nearby police station.

The protests have become a frequent occurrence as members of the ultra-Orthodox community seek to pressure the government to pass legislation exempting them from military service.

The government recently rolled out a revised proposal that would grant military service exemptions to full-time yeshiva students while ostensibly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions.

The fight over the conscription of military-aged men has become a point of contention over the last two years, ever since the clause in the Law for Security Service, which granted blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, expired in June 2023.

The following year, the High Court ruled that the government was therefore obligated to begin drafting them, though very few yeshiva students have enlisted in the military since.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.