Haredi protesters shut down highway near Bnei Brak over draft dodger’s arrest

Haredi protesters blocked highways in central Israel on Monday, in opposition to the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox man for evading service in the Israel Defense Forces.

The demonstrators, all men and boys, shut down the Geha Interchange, at the northeastern entrance to the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv.

They chanted the anti-draft slogan, “We will die and not enlist!”

Footage on social media also showed a crowd of protesters booing an ultra-Orthodox policeman, calling him “the neighborhood screw-up.”

Channel 12, reporting from the scene some two and a half hours into the closure, estimated the demonstrators to number no more than 200.

Footage captured at night showed dozens of Haredi men walking back from the Geha area chanting for the release of “the prisoners of Zion.” Earlier video from the light rail station showed dozens of Haredi youths yelling “Shikse” — a derogatory Yiddish slur for a non-Jewish woman — at a woman arguing with them on the platform as they climbed over the fence and onto the tracks.

הפרגוד: מתהלוכת הפלג בבני ברק pic.twitter.com/qMnse4mIEF

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) August 24, 2026

Tevel, the company that operates the light rail’s sole Red Line, said it was halting services to Petah Tikva stations because of the protest. Hours later, the operator said services had resumed but passengers should expect delays, while vehicle traffic also slowly resumed along Route 4 and on Jabotinsky Road in Bnei Brak

בעקבות הפגנת הפלג הירושלמי, כבר שעתיים שהרכבת הקלה בגוש דן לא מגיעה לתחנות פתח תקווה, במקביל לחסימת כביש 4. אישה שקראה למפגינים לשחרר את החסימה זכתה לקריאות שיקסע (צילום: קובי ישראל) pic.twitter.com/uawJnb01NB

— Yair Foldes (@Yair_Foldes) August 24, 2026

Police had warned of traffic disruptions in and around Bnei Brak ahead of the demonstration, which was organized by the extremist Jerusalem Faction.

מפגיני הפלג הירושלמי חוסמים את כביש 4 במחלף אם המושבות, במחאה על מעצר עריקים חרדים. המשטרה חסמה את התנועה עד מחלף אלוף שדה – עומסים כבדים במקום@MHlpryn pic.twitter.com/4YMJ8bL7cO

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) August 24, 2026

The organizers said they were protesting Sunday’s arrest of a Bnei Brak yeshiva student who failed to enlist in the military. Police discovered he was a draft dodger after he was stopped in Haifa by fare inspectors on public transportation, according to reports.

The protest on Monday was the first major anti-draft demonstration in weeks, ending a period of relative quiet over the past month that coincided with yeshivas’ summer break.

צעירים חרדים רודפים אחרי שוטר חרדי וקוראים לו "הדפוק של השכונה" pic.twitter.com/N2vBlou5pN

— יואלי ברים yoeli brim (@yoeli_brim) August 24, 2026

Deri shares purported pro-Shas notes from IDF families

Lawmaker Aryeh Deri, meanwhile, posted a series of tweets featuring pictures of troops supporting his ultra-Orthodox Shas party, after the Central Elections Committee ordered him to remove a campaign video featuring a soldier.

The video was ordered removed because it violated a ban on using images of security forces in election materials. The Central Elections Committee did not immediately respond to an inquiry as to whether Deri’s latest posts also violated the ban.

Each of Deri’s posts also contained notes of support for him, ostensibly from the people in the photos. The notes echoed the message of the removed Shas ad and paraphrased the language it used.

One message read, “Our family, the Barnas family, also has members who chose to dedicate their lives to the Torah, alongside those who chose meaningful service in the IDF. This is the Shas home on which we were raised in the light of our teacher, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed and righteous memory: Torah, love of Israel, and unity.”

לכבוד הרב אריה דרעי,
גם אצלנו, במשפחת ברנס, יש בני משפחה שבחרו להקדיש את חייהם לתורה, ולצדם מי שבחרו בשירות משמעותי בצה״ל.
זה הבית הש״סי שעליו גדלנו לאורו של מרן רבנו עובדיה יוסף זצוק״ל – תורה, אהבת ישראל ואחדות.
משפחת ברנס pic.twitter.com/W5Z4SkxYCA

— אריה מכלוף דרעי (@ariyederi) August 24, 2026

“The Shas video is so moving because it is simply real, and no one will be able to erase the truth,” another stated. “We are the Maimon family from Bat Yam, and this is exactly our story: two sons studying in yeshivas and defending the people of Israel with their Torah, the eldest son served meaningful service in the IDF, and the father has served hundreds of days of reserve duty days” since the October 7, 2023, attack.

Some 72,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said repeatedly in recent months that it urgently needs 12,000 new recruits amid the ongoing multifront conflict. The outgoing coalition’s efforts to enshrine ultra-Orthodox exemption from the draft in law have drawn fierce opposition from reservists, Knesset legal advisers and much of the public.