Haredi anti-draft demonstrations held throughout country after arrest of yeshiva students

Haredi anti-draft demonstrators are protesting nationwide against the arrest of three yeshiva students last night, as the IDF ramps up its enforcement action against ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

To publicize the mass demonstrations taking place, Haredi protest groups put out fliers coopting hostages’ families’ rhetoric, comparing detained draft dodgers to those taken captive by Hamas on October 7.

One such poster condemning the arrest of yeshiva student Ariel Shamai was emblazoned with a yellow ribbon and read, “Return him to yeshiva now,” accompanied by smaller text: “Until the last hostage.”

In Jerusalem, dozens of protesters gathered to block traffic, with some throwing stones at cars passing on Bar Lev Road, police say. Footage shared by law enforcement showed ultra-Orthodox attempting to block vehicles on the thoroughfare running through the city.

הפרות סדר בבירה: חרדים שמפגינים נגד מעצר עריקים חוסמים את כביש בר לב בירושלים ועוד צירים של הרכבת הקלה, תוך כדי שהם מיידים אבנים לעבר כלי רכב חולפים pic.twitter.com/OFXOj9becC

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) October 22, 2025

Near Bnei Brak, police geared up for a large anti-draft protest to take place on Route 4 and closed the road to traffic, only for another group of demonstrators to gather within the city itself, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Hundreds of protesters are also demonstrating outside the Beit Lid military prison, demanding that the deserters go free.

Two remain in custody after one of the students, who was nabbed by Military Police while sitting shiva for his recently deceased father, went free earlier this afternoon.