From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
4 arrested at protest against ultra-Orthodox IDF draft bill
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Police arrest four rioters at an extremist ultra-Orthodox protest after they blocked traffic on Route 4 near Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak in the center of the country.
After close to two hours of the protest, police succeeded in clearing the rioters and allowing traffic to restart.
The rioters, said to be affiliated with the extremist Jerusalem Faction, staged a protest against the government’s plan to advance a new IDF draft law. Last month a bill that would lower the age of exemption from mandatory service for Haredi Torah students from 24 to 21 passed an initial vote.
Many yeshiva students are thought to remain in religious study programs longer than they normally would in order to dodge the draft by claiming academic deferments until they reach the age of exemption. By lowering the exemption age, the government hopes to spur those Haredi men to leave the yeshiva and enter the workforce at a younger age.
The Times of Israel Community.