Off-duty soldiers, Border Police attacked in Jerusalem by dozens of Haredi men
Assailants were attending rally celebrating the release of 63 people arrested during recent attack on home of deputy Supreme Court chief to protest the arrest of draft dodgers
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A large group of ultra-Orthodox males accosted several off-duty soldiers walking in Jerusalem late Thursday, amid a rally in support of dozens who were recently arrested during a riot in support of Haredi draft dodgers.
Video from the capital showed the group trailing the soldiers, whom Hebrew media outlets identified as members of the predominantly ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion, as they yelled and threw objects at them.
Footage also showed the demonstrators throwing objects at Border Police officers dispatched to the scene, while calling them “Nazis.”
There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
Those harassing the soldiers were attending the rally to celebrate the release of 63 men arrested for taking part in an attack last month on the home of Deputy Supreme Court Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg to protest the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers.
The demonstration began in Beit Shemesh, with the protesters then holding a procession to Jerusalem to fete what organizers called the “Sohlberg 63,” who appeared on a stage before the crowd in robes and fur hats traditionally worn on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
Some of those at the protest held up signs reading, “We will never serve in the enemy army,” according to Ynet.
שלושה חיילים חרדים המשרתים בגדוד “נצח יהודה” נקלעו לאזור שבו התקיימה קבלת הפנים ל”פורעי סולברג”, והותקפו על ידי ההמון במקום.
המפגינים השליכו לעבר החיילים בקבוקים ורדפו אחריהם, השלושה הצליחו להימלט מהמקום ללא פגע. pic.twitter.com/IThA3urExZ
— יעקב הרשקוביץ | Yaakov hershkowitz (@yaakov_hershko) July 30, 2026
Some 72,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted, despite mounting calls for their conscription as Israel has fought wars on multiple fronts since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, while facing what the IDF says is an urgent manpower shortage.
Haredi officials have been pushing for continued blanket exemptions from the draft for their communities after the High Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the military absent a legal framework to continue the decades-long exemptions.
After a months-long fierce legislative battle over the issue, which has seen recurring Haredi street protests, the Knesset voted 63-52 earlier this month to pass a deeply divisive quasi-constitutional Basic Law declaring Torah study a “foundational value” of the Jewish people.
The law was intended by its backers to make it harder for the High Court of Justice to continue to rule that Haredi draft exemptions are illegal and discriminatory, because it enshrines Torah study as an essential aspect of the state.
A second law, passed in a vote of 58-54, granted tens of thousands of Haredi draft evaders immunity from arrest until late January 2027, and extends that protection to those who become eligible for military service after it takes effect, effectively eliminating the threat of arrest and making it easier to refuse to enlist during that period. It also suspends ongoing criminal proceedings against those already facing enforcement measures.
The High Court of Justice froze implementation of that law a day later to hear appeals against the legislation.
The Times of Israel Community.