Jail, death over draft: Haredim continue to protest army conscription
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Demonstrators held banners reading "To jail and not the army" and: “We will die rather than draft."
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Ultra-orthodox Jews protest in al-Quds on March 18 against conscription (AFP)
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked the Route 4 highway near the central settlement of "Bnei Brak" in a demonstration against military conscription On Monday, the Security Ministry's deadline for recruiting Haredim.
The marchers belonged to the hardline "Jerusalem Faction", which has over 60,000 members and often protests yeshiva student enrollment.
Israeli police arrested demonstrators and cleared the highway by force when protesters refused to leave. Demonstrators held banners reading "To jail and not the army,” and: “We will die rather than draft."
It is estimated that there are about 50,000 Haredi orthodox young adults in occupied Palestine who are eligible for military recruitment in the Israeli army. However, only 1,200 are signed up, as of 2019 statistics.
The demonstration occurred on the same day a High Court of Justice ruling was issued, freezing financial assistance for Haredi yeshivas whose students obtain yearly deferrals from military duty and instructing the Security Ministry to recruit Haredi males.
By March 31, the government was meant to have found a solution to comply with a 2017 court order that declared the blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students discriminatory and unlawful.
The Israeli government has failed to enact a new law, however, forcing the necessity to begin drafting members of the community.
According to Channel 12 News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the ultra-Orthodox parties last month that he would "compensate them retroactively" if the court cut off yeshiva financing.
On Monday, opposition Leader Yair Lapid urged the PM to "uphold the law," calling on Netanyahu's administration to "not to cheat, not to deceive, not to find bypass routes, not to transfer hidden budgets, not to do all the things we know they will try to do," and citing that they will not be "forced to act as if they are a law-abiding government in a law-abiding country.”
Amid extreme clashes in positions and opinions regarding the administration of the war and negotiations surrounding the captives deal, the ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews refuse to be recruited in the IOF on "biblical doctrinal" grounds, which has prompted them to protest in occupied al-Quds under the slogan: "We'd rather die than serve."
Last week, demonstrations led to confrontations between the Haredi Jews and the occupation police, who announced that they were using force against the rioting Haredi demonstrators in al-Quds. The Israeli settlers called the Israeli occupation police "Nazis" and urged them to "go die in Gaza."
The more religious slice of the Israeli settler community rejects recruitment into the Israeli army, which may opt for a chaotic recruitment-by-force situation from the authorities. As this issue reflects a grueling internal conflict from within, the Knesset looks to attract Haredi Jews through services and material means.
Netanyahu drowns in crises; 'Israel' sees largest protest since Oct.
Occupied al-Quds witnessed on Sunday the largest demonstration since the war on Gaza began last October, Israeli media reported, with tens of thousands of people protesting against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the recent exemption granted to ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews from military conscription.
Israeli media outlets reported clashes between police forces and demonstrators in the "Mea Shearim" ultra-orthodox neighborhood, as security personnel worked to maintain a separation between the protesters and local Haredi residents.
Eggs were thrown at the protesters, while the police sprayed them with Skunk spray. Meanwhile, Haredi youth set fire to an Israeli flag.
The large crowds gathered outside the Israeli Knesset and parliament, demanding new elections and the ousting of Netanyahu.
According to Israeli media, nearly 100,000 Israelis took part in the march, which also saw the blocking of a main highway and the establishment of a "tent city" outside the Knesset.
In "Tel Aviv", another massive protest was coincidently taking place, with demonstrators there objecting to Netanyahu's war policy and conduct, especially regarding his strategy to bring back the captives, many of whom had been already killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.
