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Ultra-Orthodox block main road for hours in draft protest; 32 arrested
[IsraelTimes] Haredi demonstrators rail against High Court order to draft yeshiva students, call police ‘Nazis’ and vow to die before enlistingUltra-Orthodox protesters blocked a main traffic junction for several hours on Thursday at a demonstration against proposals to draft them into the military. The demonstrators scuffled with police, who arrested at least 32 participants. Police said some protesters blocking Route 4 at the Coca-Cola Junction in Bnei Brak called them “Nazis” and lay under police vehicles to block them. Police were seen using mounted officers in attempts to clear the road during rush hour. After some three hours police announced that the road was finally open. Some protesters called for violence, while others vowed to go to jail or die instead of enlisting. Demonstrators carried signs reading: “All Haredi Jews are forbidden from enlisting, even those who are not yeshiva students.” The sign was referring to a talking point often made in public discourse that many of the ultra-Orthodox men who receive exemptions on account of their status as yeshiva students do not actually study at yeshivas. The demonstrators belonged to the extremist Jerusalem Faction, which numbers some 60,000 members and regularly demonstrates against the enlistment of yeshiva students. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life and fear that those who do enlist will be secularized. The protest was a response to the High Court of Justice’s landmark ruling on Tuesday that ordered the Israel Defense Forces to begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox men and halt funding to yeshivas that do not comply. Related: Bnei Brak: 2023-09-10 IDF soldiers enter Arab Israeli city against regulations, clash with locals; 5 hurt Bnei Brak: 2023-07-05 Russian Foreign Ministry on the aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Bnei Brak: 2023-07-05 Four Reasons for Israel's Biggest Operation in Palestine in 20 Years Posted by: Skidmark 2024-06-28 |
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