Haredi demonstrators block highway near Tel Aviv to protest army draft
Police disperse demonstration after several hours of rerouting traffic in both directions, say protesters accuse them of being ‘Nazis’; no arrests
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters blocked traffic along a major highway in central Israel on Thursday to demonstrate against intensifying efforts to conscript Haredi men into the military.
The demonstration took place on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, a major north-south highway near the entrance to the ultra-Orthodox city, just east of Tel Aviv. Demonstrators blocked traffic in both directions and clashed with Israel Police officers attempting to disperse the crowds.
The protesters were affiliated with the Jerusalem Faction, an extremist ultra-Orthodox group numbering some 60,000 members that is considered among the most hardline opponents of efforts to extend enlistment requirements to yeshiva students and other Haredi men. The group has become known for periodically organizing large protests against the Israel Defense Forces in recent years.
Protesters sat cross-legged on the ground, holding signs that read: “We will die and not enlist,” as well as other common anti-draft slogans.
Police spent several hours redirecting traffic to Route 471 and the nearby town of Petah Tikva as officers worked to clear the road of demonstrators.
In a statement issued shortly after 8:00 p.m., the police said that the demonstration had been successfully dispersed and Route 4 had been reopened to traffic.
The statement added that protesters had hurled abuse at the police, calling them “Nazis.”
“A police officer declared the demonstration illegal,” the Israel Police said. “Despite the warnings, the rioters continued to block the road and block traffic. Police were required to use force and repel the demonstrators while employing dispersal tactics to clear the road and the drivers who were trapped by the blockades.”
No arrests were reported.
Speaking to Ynet, a protester identified by the media outlet only as Shmuel said he was protesting for the belief that “every Haredi man, regardless of whether he studies [in yeshiva] or not, is exempt from conscription.”
The protest was organized in response to increasing efforts by the IDF to expand the draft of ultra-Orthodox men, as it faces personnel shortages caused by the ongoing war and after the High Court of Justice ruled back in June that there was no longer any legal framework to continue the decades-long practice of granting them blanket exemptions from army service.
Since then, thousands of orders have gone out but few Haredim have enlisted, with the overwhelming majority of those eligible for military service remaining out of the army.
The community’s leadership is vehemently opposed to young Haredi men serving in the military, fearing they will be secularized.
Earlier this week, the IDF drafted its first 50 ultra-Orthodox soldiers to the newly established “Hasmonean Brigade” for regular service, while the military said additional members of the community were drafted to previously existing units for Haredi troops.
On Wednesday, the state informed the High Court that starting in 2026, there would be no limit to the number of ultra-Orthodox servicemen the IDF can enlist.
At the same time, the government is attempting to pass a bill at the behest of the Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism parties that would see some increased enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men but would broadly maintain the decades-long, wide-scale exemption of the community from military or national service.
The bill has been stuck in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as chairman Yuli Edelstein has insisted that the needs of the IDF must come first and that the panel will only advance the legislation if lawmakers can reach a “broad consensus” on the matter.
On Thursday, a spokesman for Edelstein confirmed that Defense Minister Israel Katz would present his long-awaited proposal for a compromise to the committee on Tuesday next week.
The minister’s proposed compromise bill will contain “principles for achieving the goal of a significant increase in the number of yeshiva students serving,” along with anchoring the status of the full-time yeshiva students who will remain exempt from conscription.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
