Extremist Haredim block Route 4 in protest of ultra-Orthodox enlistment to IDF

Haredi protesters of the extremist Jerusalem Faction are blocking Route 4 near Bnei Brak to protest the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students to the Israel Defense Forces, according to Hebrew media reports.

Police have arrived at the scene and are evacuating protesters on the busy highway, who are reportedly chanting, “We will die and not enlist.”

Traffic is currently blocked from the Aluf Sadeh intersection heading north, according to a police statement.

עשרות חרדים מהפלג הירושלמי של הרב פרידמן חוסמים את כביש 4 לדרום סמוך לבני ברק, במחאה על חוק הגיוס@eli_hirschmann pic.twitter.com/QDldrfoIa3

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) August 1, 2024

The protest, one of many in recent months, comes in response to the High Court of Justice’s landmark ruling in June that ordered the military to begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox men and halt funding to yeshivas that do not comply.