Image by Getty Images

JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 40 haredi Orthodox protesters were arrested in Jerusalem during a demonstration against the arrest of a yeshiva student who refused to register for the draft.

The demonstration on Thursday morning closed an intersection near the entrance of Jerusalem.

Police and some of the estimated 400 protesters clashed during the demonstration, which also stopped the Jerusalem light rail on Jaffa Road. The demonstrators shouted “We will die before we enlist,” Ynet reported.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The demonstration that closed Jerusalem roads came a few hours before the start of the Jerusalem Pride Parade, that will close roads and bring out extra security.

While haredi Orthodox men studying in yeshiva are exempted from the draft, they are required to appear at an enlistment office to present evidence of their studies and sign a deferral. But some members of the community, including those associated with the Jerusalem Faction, a radical haredi group, refuse to even sign the deferral.

A bill setting military enlistment quotas for haredi Orthodox yeshiva students passed its initial reading in the Knesset at the beginning of July. The legislation requires that a minimum number of students serve in the military, or the government will reduce the annual budget allocation for their yeshivas. The target will increase each year for 10 years. It will likely be reintroduced when the Knesset returns from its three-month recess in October. The legislation could bring down the current government if the haredi Orthodox parties, which are part of the ruling government coalition, leave the coalition over it.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount