Khaled Yousef
24 June 2026•Update: 24 June 2026
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked roads with cars in central Israel on Wednesday to protest against mandatory military service and the arrest of draft dodgers.
Over 100 cars and thousands of Haredi protesters set off in convoys from 19 cities across Israel toward Military Prison No. 10 in the Kfar Yona area, near the Beit Lid intersection on Route 57, causing major disruptions to traffic on key roads, according to Channel 12.
The channel, citing a police source, said police forces were preparing for the possibility of unrest and widespread disruption of traffic.
Haredi demonstrators raised banners bearing a picture of extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, reading: “The number one enemy of the Jews,” and another reading: “We will not enlist in the enemy’s army.”
Army Radio also reported a large number of ultra-Orthodox Jews partaking in the protest.
The protest comes amid continuing opposition by the ultra-Orthodox community to military conscription following an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2024, requiring their enlistment and ending state funding for religious institutions whose students refuse military service.
Haredi, who account for about 13% of Israel’s population of 10 million, argue that military service threatens their religious identity and way of life because many devote themselves to Torah study. Prominent rabbis have urged followers to reject the draft and “tear up enlistment orders.”
For decades, most ultra-Orthodox men avoided military service through repeated deferments for religious study until reaching the exemption age, currently set at 26.
Opposition lawmakers accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing legislation that would permanently exempt Haredi from military service to satisfy demands by the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, both of which left the governing coalition earlier this year but are expected to rejoin if such legislation is passed.
*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul