Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest compulsory military service in Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated outside a recruitment base near Tel Aviv on Monday against compulsory military service.

According to the public broadcaster KAN, the protest took place in the Tel Hashomer neighborhood against the conscription of students of religious institutions.

Video footage showed the protest turned violent amid clashes between protesters and Israeli police, who tried to remove demonstrators blocking a street near the base.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth said protesters attempted to disrupt the recruitment process amid chants condemning the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

“Don’t kill yourselves,” “This is hell,” and “They are Nazis,” chanted protesters as new soldiers entered the recruitment base, according to the newspaper.

One protester was detained by police for carrying an Israeli flag with a Nazi swastika symbol, reading “the new flag of Israel,” KAN reported.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir denounced the incident, calling the actions of the Haredi community a “grave risk.”

KAN said the Israeli army lowered its expectations of the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews to a minimum, as fewer than 1,000 Haredi students responded to over 10,000 military draft orders.

The army was planning to enlist 280 soldiers within the Hashmonaim Brigade, a special infantry unit for Haredi, but it reduced the number to only 80 due to a lack of volunteers.

The Haredi community, which accounts for roughly 13% of Israel's 10 million population, has continued to protest conscription following a Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2024, mandating their enlistment and halting funding for yeshivas (religious schools) whose students refuse service.

Haredim argue that Torah study is their primary duty and that integration into secular society threatens their religious identity.

For decades, Haredi men have evaded conscription at age 18 through repeated deferrals tied to yeshiva enrollment until reaching the exemption age of 26.

The opposition accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing for a new law to restore Haredi exemptions to satisfy coalition partners Shas and United Torah Judaism, risking government collapse.

The draft-dodging comes as the Israeli army resumed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Israel has killed more than 52,200 Palestinians in the enclave since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.