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Monday, October 27, 2025
Gantz condemns Haredi plans for massive anti-draft protest: ‘Stop this madness’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Blue and White Party chairman Benny Gantz condemns the massive ultra-Orthodox anti-draft protest planned for Thursday in Jerusalem, calling it “dangerous for Israeli society — and dangerous for the Haredi community.”
The protest is organized by representatives of ultra-Orthodox parties Degel HaTorah, Agudat Yisrael, Shas, and other factions, as ultra-Orthodox activists and lawmakers rage against what they describe as a “wave of arrests” of yeshiva students who ignored enlistment orders and are evading military service.
“At a time when our hostages are returning, soldiers are still in Gaza, and families and businesses are trying to rebuild, you, who didn’t carry the burden, are now poking a finger in the eye of those who did?” Gantz says, addressing the ultra-Orthodox public directly while speaking to the press before a faction meeting.
He urges Haredi rabbis and political leaders to intervene, saying, “I call first and foremost on the ultra-Orthodox public not to cooperate with extremists, and I call on the rabbis to stop this madness.”
Gantz stresses that Blue and White, which current polls project will not pass the Knesset threshold in the next election, will only join a government that passes a universal draft law.
“We will not join a government that sends soldiers to war while also funding draft evasion,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.