From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
As Haredim plan to rally outside military prison, locals seek to block them
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The Hasidic Agudat Yisrael party is set to send out large convoys of hundreds of cars from ultra-Orthodox communities across the country tomorrow, culminating in a massive anti-conscription demonstration outside the Neve Tzedek (Beit Lid) military prison in Kfar Yona, where a number of draft evaders are incarcerated. Local leaders have pledged to block the protest.
According to organizers, “masses of vehicles will depart in organized convoys” tomorrow at 4 p.m. from 19 cities, including Ashdod, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Arad and Safed. The cars will carry posters and stickers declaring “Enough is enough: There is no path but the path of Torah,” sending a message that “all of Israel stands behind [the draft evaders] and bears the burden of this struggle with [them].”
“The convoys will move along main routes at a uniform speed and will comply with all safety and traffic regulations, while playing chapters of Psalms and songs of encouragement from sound systems installed in the vehicles,” organizers add.
Haredim frequently protest outside the prison, with demonstrations sometimes escalating into clashes. This has angered local residents, who say that their quality of life has been disturbed. On Monday, screaming protesters attempted to break into the base, pulling down barriers and and clashing with guards.
Responding to the announcement of the protest, which comes a week after a previous rally organized by the Gur Hasidic sect, the mayor of Kfar Yona tells the Ynet news site that residents “will block the entrance to the neighborhood” rather than see their city “besieged once more.”
Asked if he believes that this will lead to violence, a spokesman for the protest tells The Times of Israel that the demonstrators “don’t want violence” and hope that it will not occur.
“I think that in a democratic country, people are allowed to protest. I’m not aware that a mayor has the right to prevent a protest in his city… Do you support a democratic country? This isn’t something that is subject to the agreement of the local authorities,” the spokesman says.
A similar convoy protest was planned for last week with the participation of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction, which together with Agudat Yisrael comprises the Knesset’s United Torah Judaism party.
That protest was reportedly canceled, however, after Degel HaTorah senior spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando expressed opposition.
Spokesmen for Rav Lando, as well as the Degel HaTorah and Shas parties, said that they are not involved in the upcoming demonstration.
While arrests of draft evaders have increased, authorities have announced several exceptions to this policy. Last month, Chief Rabbi of the Israel Police Commander Rami Brachyahu said that the police will no longer arrest Haredi draft evaders who come to police stations to file unrelated complaints.
On Monday, Central Elections Committee Director-General Dean Livne announced that evaders will not be arrested on the upcoming election day so that they too can vote.
The Times of Israel Community.