Haredi extremists block roads, call ‘protest of rage’ for tomorrow over arrests of draft dodgers

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators belonging to the extremist Jerusalem Faction, among other groups, block Route 4 near the central Israel city of Bnei Brak in order to protest the arrest of yeshiva students who have evaded IDF conscription.

“We prefer to die as Haredim rather than live as IDF soldiers,” one demonstrator screams. Photos from the scene show burning Israeli flags and a fake tombstone emblazoned with the slogan “We will die and not enlist,” a common refrain at such demonstrations.

In a statement, the Israel Police say that while they consider “the right to protest to be a cornerstone of a democratic state” as long as they are conducted “within the framework of the law,” they “will not “allow any kind of disorder or violation of freedom of movement, or any behavior that may endanger the safety of the public.”

Police report that officers are also working to remove rioters who are disrupting traffic in three locations, including Jerusalem’s Tsahal Square and Route 38 in Beit Shemesh.

In a statement, the Jerusalem Faction declares that the arrest of yeshiva student Nehorai Bachar “from within the walls of the yeshiva in Herzliya” and his incarceration in military prison crossed a “red line” and that faction’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Azriel Auerbach, has “instructed the public to take part in a mass “protest of rage” tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the entrance to Jerusalem.”

“Anyone who does not go out to protest the arrest of a yeshiva student from within the study hall takes part in the persecution of those who learn Torah,” the rabbi states. “It is an absolute obligation for every person who values the Torah and the name of heaven to protest its degradation and desecration.”

An extremist ultra-Orthodox group numbering some 60,000 members, the Jerusalem Faction regularly demonstrates raucously against the military enlistment of yeshiva students. It operates a hotline to mobilize protesters against the arrest of draft dodgers and has been involved in paying evaders financial rewards.

Over the past day, police arrested three members of the Breslov Hasidic sect on suspicion of assault over an attack on ultra-Orthodox soldier Yosef Rozenberger, a member of the IDF’s Hasmonean Brigade, at his home in Beit Shemesh on Saturday night. The attackers reportedly yelled, “We’ll burn down your house with the kids inside,” Channel 13 reported.

“The Israel Police will continue to act decisively against perpetrators of violence and anyone who chooses to disrupt public order and harm public security,” the police say.

כביש 4 נחסם לתנועה סמוך לבני ברק בגלל הפגנת חרדים נגד מעצר של בחורי ישיבות@AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/uz4qzaEuJt

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 28, 2026