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Bnei Brak anti-draft rally
Hundreds of Haredi men gathered Monday evening in Bnei Brak for a protest against the military draft of yeshiva students, led by former Sephardi chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, as Israel’s political battle over mandatory service for ultra-Orthodox men intensified.
“A large group of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters succeeded in halting the arrest of a draft dodger in Maale Adumim near Jerusalem, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported on Sunday night”
The rally focused on arrests of yeshiva students who had not reported for military service, after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled the state could no longer maintain blanket exemptions without a law.
During the rally, Rabbi Aryeh Yazdi attacked IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and called on yeshiva students not to enlist, saying, “This entire army comes to uproot the name of God.”
Yosef said the rally was held “to protest against the judges and all the wicked authorities,” and he added that “when soldiers are killed, it is because of the decrees imposed on those who study Torah.”
Incitement condemnation and clashes
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz condemned incitement against Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir at a protest march against mandatory conscription in Bnei Brak, where Rabbi Aryeh Yezdi said, “The cursed Chief of Staff, may his name and memory be erased.”
Katz said, “I strongly condemn the dangerous incitement directed at the Chief of Staff,” and added that “It is forbidden to cross red lines of incitement and to harm those who bear the heavy responsibility for the security of the state.”
Separately, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported that in Maale Adumim near Jerusalem, dozens of haredi protesters succeeded in halting the arrest of a draft dodger after being alerted by the extremist Jerusalem Faction (Peleg Yerushalmi).
KAN also showed a police officer telling protesters, “I didn't even bring any patrol cars, I came alone,” and the footage said protesters praised the gesture as the officer returned to his vehicle.
Detentions, release, and next moves
The protests continued around Military Prison 10 near Beit Lid, where the Maariv newspaper said dozens of Haredi Jews gathered to protest the detention of draft dodgers, raised banners reading “Release the kidnapped,” and clashed with forces trying to disperse them.
The disputes over conscription followed a Supreme Court ruling issued on June 25, 2024, obliging Haredim to enlist and prohibiting funding for religious institutions whose students refuse service, and the Al Jazeera net report said Yitzhak Yosef warned of “divine punishment” for Israel over attempts to recruit the Haredim.
In Bnei Brak, the Times of Israël reported that all 26 suspects arrested on Sunday during mass riots were released on Monday afternoon, with the last seven detainees placed under house arrest by Tel Aviv courts.
The Times of Israël also said the Sunday chaos erupted when several hundred people attacked two female soldiers who had arrived in the city to visit a draftee, and it reported that the police said they arrested a total of 26 suspects while attorney Shlomo Hadad said the total number of detainees was 28, not 26.
