Thousands in Tel Aviv rally to end military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox

Thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv Thursday for separate protests demanding an immediate release of hostages from Gaza and calling for drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the military.

The rallies, one of which briefly stopped traffic on a major thoroughfare,  underlined growing societal divisions and heightened pressures on the government more than five months into the war against Hamas.

Some 10,000 people gathered at Habima Square in central Tel Aviv to protest against the government, focusing on support within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet for maintaining military draft exemptions granted to members of the ultra-Orthodox community.

The government is facing a court-imposed deadline to pass new legislation regulating or ending the draft exemptions, as plans to extend service terms for enlisted troops due to manpower strains brought on by the war in Gaza and fighting in the north reignite ire over the free pass granted to Haredi Jews.

Demonstrators held signs calling for an equal “sharing of the burden,” and emphasizing the shared fate between Israelis of various creeds, as well as posters urging the dissolution of the government and new elections.

“This is no longer a debate about ideals or values, we’re talking about a real need here,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid told Channel 12 news from the sidelines of the protest. “The Israel Defense Forces is as stretched as it can be and there are not enough soldiers, and at the same time there are 66,000 young and healthy members of the Haredi community, at enlistment age, who are not joining up.”

Netanyahu’s coalition relies on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torha Judaism, both of which are vociferously opposed to forcing Haredi men to serve in the military rather than study Jewish texts in a yeshiva.

Former general Noam Tibon, one of the main organizers of the rally, called on Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot of the National Unity party to end their participation in the coalition, which they joined in order to support the war effort after the October 7 massacre.

“We won’t allow the government to paper over the need to enlist Haredim,” he said at the rally, addressing Gantz and Eisenkot. “We will support you. [But] if you let the country pass an evasion law, you will own the damage done.”

The Supreme Court in 2018 voided a law waiving the draft for ultra-Orthodox men, citing a need for the burden of military service to be shared across Israeli society.

The Knesset failed to come up with a new arrangement, and a government-issued stay on mandatory conscription of ultra-Orthodox expires in March.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said he will only back a law supported by the full coalition, including Gantz and Eisenkot, both of whom support ending exemptions for members of the Haredi community.

Nearby, hundreds more people rallied for the release of hostages held in Gaza, marching from Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square to the Kirya military headquarters carrying enlarged images of women held in Gaza.

Female-led marchers blocked Kaplan Road outside the Kirya and some protesters briefly managed to stop traffic on the Ayalon freeway before being removed by police.

“Bringing them back as soon as possible will be the only image of victory from this damned war,” one woman shouted into a megaphone.

Others chanted: “Deal, now!”

The rally came as reports indicated that negotiators for Israel and Hamas were nearing an elusive agreement for a pause in the fighting and the release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu told representatives of families whose loved ones are in Gaza that Qatar was pressuring Hamas toward agreeing to a deal. However, Netanyahu’s office later released a statement claiming that Hamas had not softened its “ridiculous” demands, pouring cold water on hopes for a swift agreement.

It is believed that around 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of 32 people held captive.

War erupted on October 7 when Hamas sent thousands of terrorists from Gaza streaming into southern Israel, where they carried out an unprecedented rampage, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253 others.