Haredi extremists block Jerusalem road outside event honoring ultra-Orthodox soldiers

28 January 2025, 4:05 pm

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Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox extremists block a central road outside Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, which is hosting an event honoring Haredi soldiers.

The protesters decry enlistment to the military within the community, which has become a politically fraught issue after the High Court has ruled that a decades-long exemption no longer has any legal framework, prompting the government — which includes two Haredi parties — to work on a new law regulating the matter by having some enlist and exempting other yeshiva students.

מפגינים נגד גיוס חסמו את שדרות שז"ר בירושלים לקראת כנס הוקרה לחיילים החרדים שייערך בבנייני האומה@eli_hirschmann pic.twitter.com/L0NSAfXBHc

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) January 28, 2025

The hardline demonstrators oppose any ultra-Orthodox enlistment to the military, viewing it as a red line out of fear they will be secularized.

Blocking Shazar Boulevard, the protesters also hand out flyers decrying Shas party chief Aryeh Deri as a “murderer of souls” over his participation in talks over the new law and willingness to compromise.