Ultra-Orthodox Jews block Israeli highway in protest of IDF draft
The protesters can be seen blocking vehicles and clashing with police officers at the intersection near the Coca-Cola factory in Bnei Brak in footage shared on social media.
The Idiot Brigade:
In Bnei Brak, a city east of Tel Aviv that is considered Israel’s ultra-Orthodox capital, there are few posters of the Israeli hostages who were captured on Oct. 7 and whose photographs are ubiquitous in secular neighborhoods.
Rabbinical leaders in the city remain unmoved by calls for Haredim to serve in the military. Within Haredi communities, many fear that the fabric of their insular life would begin to fray if men were forced to skip the full-time study of Scripture.
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| FIVE STAR GENERAL OF THE IDIOT BRIGADE Rabbi Meir Zvi Bergman, center, a revered religious leader, said the way to help Israel is to study Scripture. |
“The way to help is to study Torah,” Meir Zvi Bergman, one of the most revered rabbis in Israel, said during a rare audience with journalists from The New York Times. “No one can give up on the Torah,” he added.
To show how Rabbi Bergman reflected mainstream Haredi opinion, a Haredi commentator took us to meet boys from a nearby school.
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters blocked Highway 4, near the haredi city of Bnei Brak, in a demonstration against recent calls for equal IDF conscription rules on Sunday afternoon.
The protesters can be seen blocking vehicles and clashing with police officers at the intersection near the Coca-Cola factory in Bnei Brak in footage shared on social media.
According to Israeli media, the protesters were affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi sect.
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| Some protesters had called the police "Nazis." Ultra-Orthodox Jews block a road during a protest outside the city of Bnei Brak, March 3, 2024 |
During the protest, an Israeli border police officer was seen kicking a protester.
Israel Police released a statement on the matter, saying: "Traffic arrangements on Highway 4 following an illegal demonstration: Israeli police officers are on the scene directing traffic to alternative routes.
Route 4 to the North - traffic is diverted to Route 471. Highway 4 to the South - traffic is directed towards Am Moshevat, Bnei-Brak. We recommend traveling by alternative routes."
Later, the Israel police provided an update, signaling that the protest had ended while summarizing the event and claiming that some protesters had called the police "Nazis."
The update read: "All the roads are open to traffic following an illegal demonstration starting at noon, hundreds of protesters began to break the order and block highway 4, clashing with the police, while they laid down on the road under the vehicles accompanied by calls of "Nazis" at the police. During the evacuation of some of the protesters, the police had to use force in order to stop the offense and the violation of freedom of movement. The Israel Police considers the right to protest as a cornerstone in a democratic country and allows protests as long as they are held within the framework of the law. At the same time, the police will not allow disturbances of any kind or damage to freedom of movement or any behavior that may endanger the safety of the public."
Gallant sets ultimatum for haredi IDF draft
The haredim's protest comes after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for the first time, publicly called for a "wide consensus" bill that would end the blanket exemption given to the ultra-Orthodox on Wednesday evening. Gallant said that there was a "real and direct" need to lengthen the service of mandatory and reserve IDF soldiers but that "the war has proven that everyone must enter under the stretcher."
A day later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he believed he could pass a draft law arrangement that would not tear the nation apart and would be supported by a majority in the Knesset.
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| Some Were Persuaded To Take Up Arms |
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