Haredi protesters block Route 4 traffic over IDF draft
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men blocked traffic on Route 4 near the Yavne Junction in central Israel to protest laws requiring military enlistment.
The demonstration follows the weekend arrest in Rishon LeZion of two students from Jerusalem’s Ohr HaChaim yeshiva. The students were sentenced to 20 days in military prison for failing to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to Haredi media.
Opposition to military conscription has sparked repeated protests among Haredi communities, many of whom believe full-time yeshiva students should be exempt from military service to pursue religious studies.
The issue has intensified political and social tensions in Israel, as the government faces pressure to address the longstanding exemptions amid the IDF’s growing manpower needs.
