Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest in West Jerusalem against military draft

• Police closed Highway 1, Israel’s main highway, over protest

JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL

Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in West Jerusalem on Thursday for a mass protest against compulsory military service, local media reported.

According to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, the protest was called by Haredi rabbis and Torah student councils against what they describe as "an attack on the identity of religious society and an infringement on the freedom to study religion."

“The people are with the Torah” and “Closing the yeshiva — a death sentence for Judaism,” read banners waved by protesters.

The protest marks one of the largest religious demonstrations in the country’s history, KAN said.

The daily Haaretz reported that the protesters chanted against the arrest of religious school students accused of evading compulsory military service in Israel.

The protest is “a rare show of unity among Haredi factions (most notably Shas and United Torah Judaism), that are often deeply divided over politics and relations with the state,” it added.

Police closed Highway 1, Israel’s main highway, completely over the protest, the outlet said.

Israel Railways also decided to close Jerusalem’s train station from 1:00 pm due to the congestion caused by the protest.

Haaretz said a number of demonstrators violently attacked the crew of Israeli Channel 12 with boards and bottles, while a cameraman from Channel 13 was also assaulted.

Ultra-Orthodox parties in the Knesset announced that they would continue to pressure to drop the conscription law, stressing that "preserving the character of the religious society is an untouchable red line."

According to The Times of Israel news site, 6,975 Haredi Jews have been declared draft dodgers in recent months, 870 of whom were arrested.

Haredim, who make up about 13% of Israel’s population of 10 million, claim military service threatens their religious identity and community structure, as they dedicate their lives to Torah study. Prominent rabbis have urged followers to reject the draft and “tear up enlistment orders.”

For decades, most ultra-Orthodox men avoided service through repeated deferments for religious study until reaching the exemption age, currently set at 26.

Opposition lawmakers accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing legislation to permanently exempt the Haredim to satisfy demands by the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, both of which left the coalition earlier this year but are expected to rejoin once such a law passes.