Hundreds of Haredi protesters clash with police, thwart arrest of draft dodger in Modiin

Military Police leave without suspect after clashes; IDF says rioters acted in organized manner and endangered soldiers; Bennett, Liberman condemn incident

By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian Today, 11:44 am
Ultra-Orthodox rioters gather to prevent the arrest of a military draft dodger in Modiin, October 6, 2026. (X screenshot/Josh Breiner)

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed with police at an apartment building in Modiin overnight Monday in an effort to prevent Military Police officers from arresting a Haredi draft dodger, causing security forces to leave without taking the man into custody.

The incident began when Military Police officers arrived at the building to arrest the man for failing to report for military service. After word of the operation spread through the hardline Jerusalem Faction’s “Black Color” alert network, hundreds of protesters gathered outside.

Some forced their way into the building and entered the apartment where the draft dodger was located, footage showed.

Videos from the scene showed protesters crowding around the draft dodger’s building and confronting security forces, while police attempted to block people from entering. Clashes subsequently broke out between officers and protesters.

Police said officers were called to assist the Military Police and worked to extract the soldiers from the building and restore public order. The Military Police personnel eventually left under police protection without the draft dodger.

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that the Military Police soldiers had been carrying out “ongoing enforcement activities” against deserters and draft dodgers under the Military Service Law when a “large number of rioters” gathered and acted in an organized manner to disrupt the operation.

According to the military, the protesters obstructed the arrest with “resistance and significant disruption,” endangering the soldiers and prompting police to intervene.

“The IDF strongly condemns any attempt to interfere with its soldiers’ activities or harm them while they are lawfully carrying out their duties,” the military said, adding that enforcement against deserters and draft dodgers would continue “equally and in accordance with the authorities granted to the IDF.”

After the forces withdrew, protesters celebrated, with footage showing the draft dodger atop a vehicle as supporters gathered around him. The “Black Color” hotline said afterward that police had left the yeshiva student’s home “following the support of the masses.”

The scenes drew condemnation from opposition politicians, three weeks before the election. B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett said in an X post that the country was “one moment away from another disaster,” describing the incident as an “ambush” in which hundreds of extremist rioters surrounded soldiers and police doing their jobs.

Bennett accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners of allowing extremists to create “a state within a state,” and pledged that under a government led by him, “whoever does not serve will not receive a shekel.”

He also pledged that barring draft dodgers from the high-level security cabinet will be a “fundamental condition” for his party to join the next government.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman accused protesters of attacking soldiers and police, and said the forces had been forced to retreat “under heavy police protection as though they were in Jenin, not Modiin.” He also noted that members of the Haredi crowd shouted “Nazis” at the security forces and referred to the draft dodger as a “hostage.”

The confrontation came after a series of recent protests and riots over efforts to arrest Haredi draft evaders. On September 2, dozens of Haredi men demonstrated outside the Jerusalem home of a senior police traffic official after six alleged draft dodgers were detained at Ben Gurion Airport while trying to leave the country. The Airports Authority said the men were subject to orders barring them from leaving Israel because of draft evasion.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against conscription into the Israeli army in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on August 24, 2026. (ilia YEFIMOVICH/AFP)

On August 24, members of the Jerusalem Faction blocked major roads near Bnei Brak following the arrest of a yeshiva student for failing to enlist, shutting the Geha Interchange and disrupting public transportation while chanting, “We will die and not enlist.”

Earlier that month, Jerusalem Faction protesters blocked Route 4 and other roads after another draft-dodging yeshiva student was arrested. During the August 12 demonstration, police had to escort a Haredi soldier to safety after protesters surrounded and heckled him; some demonstrators also wore yellow stars marked “Haredi” and displayed signs comparing IDF service to spiritual death.

Haredi Jews block traffic during a protest against the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox draft dodger, on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, August 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The turmoil has affected enforcement efforts. In late September, Hebrew media reported that the IDF and police had halted proactive operations to arrest Haredi draft dodgers after authorities were “deterred” by mass demonstrations that caused widespread disruption, though the military maintained that it was continuing efforts to detain draft evaders.

Currently, approximately 80,000 Haredi men between the ages of 18 and 24 are eligible for military service and have not enlisted. The Attorney General’s Office has called for the state to strengthen its enforcement of draft orders, including arresting draft evaders.

In April, the High Court of Justice ordered the government to explain its failure to issue enough conscription orders to Haredi yeshiva students to meet the needs of the IDF, and its failure to enforce the orders it had issued.

The Israel Police subsequently announced in May that new orders had been issued to officers to detain draft dodgers and wait for the Military Police to pick them up.

The coalition passed legislation in July that would have halted arrests of Haredi draft evaders for seven months, but the High Court swiftly froze the law and then in September struck it down entirely, ruling that it violated the principle of equality in service.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against the drafting of Haredi Jews to the IDF, on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, August 8, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Efforts by the government to enshrine in law a blanket ultra-Orthodox exemption from the draft have drawn fierce opposition from reservists, Knesset legal advisers and much of the public.

Haredi leaders fiercely oppose compulsory enlistment, arguing that military service threatens their religious way of life.

Yet the matter remains contentious amid the country’s wartime manpower shortage and anger among Israelis who serve in the military and reserves, with the topic featuring as one of the key issues ahead of the October 27 general election.

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