Haredi anti-enlistment protesters block roads, clash with motorists in ‘day of rage’

Ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed on Wednesday with motorists as they blocked several highway intersections in central Israel as part of a “day of rage” against military enlistment and the arrests of Haredi draft evaders.

Footage posted on social media showed protesters affiliated with the extremist Jerusalem Faction and commuters throwing water at each other. In an incident near a military prison at Beit Lid, where draft evaders are held, Haredim yelled “shiksa” (a derogatory Yiddish moniker for a non-Jewish woman) and poured water on a woman who kicked a protester.

Another video from the scene showed Haredim surrounding and beating a car trying to get through their blockade. It managed to pass, but one protester climbed onto the roof and rode the car down the highway.

Along Route 4 in Bnei Brak, protesters vowed to “die” or go to prison instead of enlisting, and called police officers “Nazis.”

Police said a protester in Bnei Brak who spat on an officer was arrested.

Earlier this week, the Jerusalem Faction called on its adherents to take to the streets on Wednesday in protest of the increasingly frequent arrests of Haredi draft evaders.

תיעוד מבית ליד: המפגינים החרדים קראו לעברה של נהגת "שיקסע" ושפכו עליה מים, היא יצאה מרכבה ובעטה באחד מהם @daniel_elazar pic.twitter.com/i4defREWpa

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 20, 2025

תיעוד די מטורף של צלמנו עידו ארז: מפגין עולה על גג רכב שחוצה את המפגינים, ומתיישב עליו תוך כדי נסיעה. pic.twitter.com/GRA3u16ROV

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) August 20, 2025

A hardline ultra-Orthodox group numbering some 60,000 members, the Jerusalem Faction is considered among the most conservative of Haredi factions and regularly demonstrates raucously against the enlistment of yeshiva students.

The demonstrators blocked traffic in both directions on Route 2, near Netanya Junction, and Route 4, near Sharon Junction, according to law enforcement officials.

Highway 6 was also blocked, with media reports stating that the demonstrators had surprised police by declaring only that they would rally near the Beit Lid military prison, but then showing up simultaneously at several other spots.

Police said the roads were reopened after nearly two hours.

The Committee to Save the Torah World, the group that organized the rallies, said earlier in a statement that the government has “crossed all red lines” with the arrests of draft dodgers.

“Torah students are making clear today: You declared war on Torah students — the war has been accepted,” it said.

Haredi leaders say military service is a threat to their way of life and would secularize ultra-Orthodox men. 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 amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.

Last summer, the High Court of Justice ruled that longstanding mass exemptions for these yeshiva students were illegal. Since then, the IDF has significantly stepped up its efforts to recruit the eligible Haredi men, sending out 54,000 conscription orders in July alone, leading the Haredi community to declare “war.”

The mainstream ultra-Orthodox leadership has called for an international day of prayer against conscription on Thursday. Prayer rallies are expected across Israel, with mass gatherings planned in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem.

However, according to Hebrew-language press reports, mainstream leaders of the so-called Lithuanian branch of non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodoxy have backed away from issuing a public call for protest, going back on commitments to their Hasidic counterparts.

The Bnei Brak religious council, a taxpayer-funded government body, has been listed as one of the backers of an anti-enlistment event on Thursday morning.

The event, set to take place at the central city’s Yeshua L’yehuda yeshiva, will consist of ideological encouragement for “the holy and mighty yeshiva and kollel students in the face of the conscription decrees,” a promotion for the event states, using Biblical language to reference soldiers and other fighting men.

Meanwhile, the Israel Police said a cop “likely” acted out of line when she stomped on the head of a Haredi protester Tuesday.

לוחמת מג״ב תועדה היום כשהיא דורכת על ראשו של מפגין חרדי. איך זה קורה שוב? הרי רק לפני שלושה שבועות בירושלים שוטרים דרכו על מפגינים והפכו אותם לשטיח אנושי, ובמח״ש עדיין לא טרחו לזמן את המעורבים לחקירה – למרות שחקירה נפתחה כמה שעות לאחר הפרסום pic.twitter.com/iKTSIKCGXI

— לירן תמרי | Liran Tamari (@liran__tamari) August 19, 2025

The incident occurred during a protest during which some blocked Route 4 in central Israel.

A border policewoman was seen kicking a demonstrator who lay down on the floor in front of her, before she walked on.

“The video shows a border cop during a protest in Bnei Brak that was declared illegal and against which a dispersal order had been issued,” police said. “Her action, as seen in the clip, likely deviates from the values and protocols of the organization. Accordingly, the incident has been handed to the authorized officials for examination.”