Ultra-orthodox Jews protests disrupt traffic across Israel amid opposition to military conscription

Mass demonstrations by ultra-orthodox Jews (Haredim) caused widespread traffic disruption across Israel on Wednesday as protesters opposed efforts to expand mandatory military service for members of the community.

Large vehicle convoys travelled at slow speeds from dozens of locations across 19 cities, from northern to southern Israel, before converging on Military Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, where individuals accused of evading military service are being held.

The protests were organised in response to recent measures aimed at increasing the enlistment of Haredi men into the Israeli military.

United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf led one of the convoys departing from Jerusalem and criticised the government’s conscription policy.

He also warned that the demonstrations could escalate if the government’s policy remains unchanged.

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“The day will come when we turn the country upside down. We will no longer be slaves, and we will take the prisons and transform them into religious seminaries,” he said.

Bnei Brak Mayor Hanokh Zeibert called for restoring the longstanding arrangement under which full-time Torah students were exempt from compulsory military service.

The protests brought traffic to a standstill on several of Israel’s main highways after demonstrators left their vehicles and marched along major roads.

Disruptions were reported on Routes 1 and 443 leading to Jerusalem, Route 6, the country’s main north-south highway, as well as Routes 2, 4, 20 and 57.

Organisers instructed participants to drive at speeds of no more than 50 kilometres per hour while maintaining extended safety distances, a tactic intended to maximise traffic disruption.

Religious media outlets affiliated with Haredi parties urged supporters to continue demonstrations until the government’s military conscription measures are withdrawn.

The issue of military service for the Haredi community remains one of the most divisive domestic political issues in Israel, with repeated legal and political disputes over exemptions that have existed for decades.

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