Mother of fallen soldier leads dozens in protest against Haredi draft law outside Knesset

Dozens of Israelis are protesting outside the Knesset against a planned ultra-Orthodox draft law that will limit the numbers of Haredi men conscripted into the army.

The demonstrators wave Israeli flags and carry a stretcher, calling for the ultra-Orthodox to “shoulder the burden” of military service along with other citizens.

Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to present the outlines of his plan that will gradually expand ultra-Orthodox draft, at the Knesset later today.

Among those leading the march from the Mount Herzl military cemetery to the Knesset is Laly Derai, the mother of Saadia Derai, who was killed in combat in the Gaza Strip.

“The reservists and regular army soldiers bear such a hard burden,” Derai tells the Ynet news site at the start of the march. “We can’t continue without expanding the circle of those carrying the stretcher.”

Regarding Katz’s plan, Derai says that while she believes the defense minister means well, “he doesn’t understand the urgency — we can’t wait seven years until they are drafted.”

She calls on legislators to craft a law that will be be “ironclad and not allow healthy youths to evade service in the IDF for all sorts of loopholes by sitting in a yeshiva.”