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Sunday, October 26, 2025
Ultra-Orthodox plan massive anti-draft rally at entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Members of the ultra-Orthodox community will hold a massive prayer rally against conscription at the entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, announces a spokesman for Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party.
The protest was originally slated to be held on Sunday but was delayed, reportedly due to disagreements between the various ultra-Orthodox factions involved. The rally will bring together representatives from United Torah Judaism’s Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael factions as well as the Sephardic Shas party and other groups.
In a separate statement, Shas says that the event will be held at 2:30 p.m., with additional details to be announced later.
The protest comes 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.
Last week, Shas gave up its chairmanships of parliamentary committees to protest the lack of a law regulating the conscription of yeshiva students. The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is expected to present an updated draft of a bill regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment on Thursday.
The Times of Israel Community.