Haredi protesters rally outside chief justice’s home to oppose draft dodger’s arrest

Dozens of extremist ultra-Orthodox demonstrators rallied on Sunday outside the home of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit in Mevasseret Zion to protest the arrest of a Haredi military draft dodger.

Police dispersed the demonstration after a short while, according to Hebrew media reports.

It was the latest demonstration by Haredim to target a court official. Earlier this month, ultra-Orthodox rioters attacked the home of Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, smashing windows and causing property damage, while trying to break into the residence in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut.

On Sunday, prosecutors indicted four men from Beit Shemesh for rioting at Sohlberg’s home.

Other demonstrations have followed that one. On Thursday, mass protests were called in central Israel by the extremist Jerusalem Faction, after police transferred to IDF custody 19 draft dodgers who were arrested at the riot at Sohlberg’s home. At least two protesters were injured as thousands of Haredi men blocked central Israel highways and railroads, snarling traffic and clashing with police.

The previous day, protesters gathered outside prisons in major cities across the country to rally against the arrests of the draft evaders. Three protesters were arrested on suspicion of rioting and attacking police officers in Jerusalem, with police saying they “attacked officers, threw objects and refused to obey the instructions of forces at the scene.”

The protests are escalating against the backdrop of a fierce national debate over the blanket exemptions from military service long afforded to Haredi men. A High Court ruling declared in 2024 that Haredi men must enlist, and the debate over enlistment has gained urgency amid the multi-front war Israel has fought since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

The Israel Defense Forces have warned repeatedly of an urgent manpower shortage amid the fighting. But Haredi leaders have continued to push for the exemptions to be enshrined in law, claiming that army service is a threat to their way of life and seeking to have the state view Torah study as service on par with military duty.

Over the past two years, the military has sent out tens of thousands of enlistment orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community following the High Court ruling. Most have ignored the orders, leading to large numbers of young men being classified as evaders and being subject to arrest or other sanctions.