IN PHOTOS: Ultra-Orthodox Jews Protest Israeli Draft Bill in New York
It must have been a confusing sight for tourists. Some 50,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews crammed onto Water Street in lower Manhattan on Sunday afternoon, showing their support for their Haredi brethren in Israel. This week, the Knesset will vote on a bill to make conscription into the Israel Defense Forces mandatory for Haredi men. Sunday’s “Great Prayer Assembly” was as much about lending them emotional support as it was about protesting the draft bill ahead of the Knesset vote.
The ultra-Orthodox demonstrators came from Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan and New Jersey, and joined together in prayer, tears and shouts. After a little over an hour, they dispersed, and lower Manhattan went back to normal.
Photos by Shulamit Seidler-Feller
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30