Ultra-Orthodox protesters block roads at IDF’s induction base, seeking to foil draft

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked roads outside the Israel Defense Forces’ central induction base on Sunday, where over 200 members of the Haredi community were joining the army.

The Israel Police said the protesters were trying to intimidate the recruits who arrived at the Tel Hashomer base, where inductees are processed before being sent to their units.

A number of roads in the area were blocked as a result of the illegal protest, and officers used crowd control measures to disperse the demonstrators, police said.

“Despite attempts to engage in dialogue, the rioters continue to congregate at the site, confronting police officers and shouting terms such as ‘Nazis’ and ‘terrorists’ at them,” police said.

There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

The ultra-Orthodox community has historically shunned army service, claiming that military life is at odds with their religious culture and practices. Haredi protest rallies, which sometimes turn violent, have been held at various locations around the country.

Some 230 Haredi men were expected to be drafted into the IDF for noncombat roles at Tel Hashomer. The army said that the protest did not prevent any of the new draftees from joining the army and that there had been individual coordination with each of the recruits about their arrival at the base.

Protesters were bused in from Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, two cities with large Haredi populations, Ynet reported.

According to the outlet, an announcement calling on people to participate in the protest declared that it will take place “outside the draft office in Tel Hashomer, the Auschwitz crematorium of souls in Tel Aviv,” a reference to the Nazi concentration camp where a million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

Meanwhile, the army said that dozens of draft dodgers who were arrested last month at Ben Gurion Airport as they returned to the country have since been tried. Of the 42 who were arrested, two were jailed, and 33 have since joined the army. The army said there will be further measures taken against the seven who have still not shown up for service.

Last week, hundreds of Haredi men rioted on the Route 4 highway in central Israel, near Bnei Brak, clashing with police in protest of the arrest of a draft dodger. Three people were arrested.

And last month, an ultra-Orthodox candidate for the Knesset caused outrage when he likened the current situation of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel to Jews during the Holocaust.

Eliakim Stark, No. 6 on United Torah Judaism’s slate, made the comments when he lamented the woes of many young Haredi men who cannot fly abroad to meet potential wives as part of the community’s shidduch matchmaking system, since they are under military draft orders and would be arrested at the airport.

UTJ won seven seats in the election last week.

The issue of draft exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community has been a major source of political and social tension, as the IDF has repeatedly said it faces an urgent manpower deficit amid the multifront war of recent years, and resentment has grown among Israelis who perform mandatory and reserve service. Many reservists have served hundreds of days in the last three years.

The High Court of Justice has repeatedly pressed the government to enforce Haredi enlistment after its 2024 ruling that there was no legal basis for blanket exemptions from the draft for yeshiva students.

The IDF has created programs to accommodate Haredi soldiers, but many still oppose service, and the community’s leaders seek legislation to continue the broad exemptions that have been granted for decades.

The issue was a key issue in the elections, with opposition parties vowing to pass legislation to draft the Haredim and the ultra-Orthodox parties threatening to not rejoin the coalition unless a law is passed to preserve the exemptions.

Ultimately, the election results were inconclusive, with neither a bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor an opposition bloc seeking to oust him having a clear path to a majority in the Knesset.

Last week, Channel 12 reported that figures in the UTJ party are considering offering support to a minority government led by leading opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot without formally joining his coalition.

UTJ is reportedly considering the switch out of frustration with Netanyahu, who has not passed legislation it has long demanded to enshrine military service exemptions for yeshiva students.