Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men took to the streets for the third night in a row Thursday to protest the arrest of a draft-dodging yeshiva student. Protesters succeeded in blocking access to Bar-Ilan Junction in Jerusalem and the centrally located Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Brak. Traffic jams were reported in both cities as a result. In total, around 30 protesters were arrested by the end of the night. Police employed water cannons and mounted officers to disperse the protesters who had massed in the streets against orders. Officials stressed that the protests are illegal and warned they would not hesitate to use force against protesters. On Wednesday, haredi youths in Bnei Brak threw stones at a newly discharged haredi solider after recognizing him from pamphlets distributed in the city's haredi neighborhoods. In a video of the incident taken by the soldier, he flees to a nearby building and hides from the angry mob. It was there that he alerted police to the attack. Although the government generally does not enforce the ultra-Orthodox draft, protesters belonging to the Jerusalem Faction, a small extremist group led by Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, have fought publicly against the draft. Auerbach has instructed his disciples to disobey draft orders and not show up at IDF induction centers, leading to the deserters' arrests. On Thursday, Hapeles, the haredi newspaper aligned with the Jerusalem Faction, published a quasi-religious decree calling for the continued struggle against the draft. "All those engaged in the capture of souls have removed themselves from the haredi [community], and should be warned against and publicly shamed," the newspaper said. Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers spoke out publicly against the protests on Friday. In an interview with haredi news site Kikar Shabbat, Interior Minister and Shas party leader Aryeh Deri said, "This is blasphemy. I denounce and condemn these grave acts." Deri emphasized, "This is a small minority that does not represent haredi society." United Torah Judaism MK Yakov Asher told haredi radio station Kol Barama, "The vast majority of the haredi public is not there. This is not our way, and we have no part in it."
Hundreds of haredim riot over IDF deserter's arrest
Police use water cannons, mounted forces to disperse mob attempting to block major intersections and roads across country • Some 30 protesters arrested • Ultra-Orthodox MKs denounce protests by "small minority that does not represent haredi society."
Load more...