Haredi protest against conscription: public disturbances outside Tel HaShomer base

Haredi protesters blocked roads on Monday near the recruitment office in Tel HaShomer in protest against conscription. According to a police statement, following the demonstration, Yaakov Dori Street in Kiryat Ono was blocked to traffic in both directions, and drivers were called upon to use alternative routes.

Protesters shouted slogans against those enlisting in the IDF who arrived at the recruitment office, blocked roads and vehicles in the area, and one of them even threw himself under the wheels of a truck.

According to the police, forces on the scene announced several times via a loudspeaker system that the demonstration was illegal. The protesters ignored the officers' instructions and continued to disturb the peace, blocking the road and clashing with the police.

The tension surrounding the conscription of Haredim outside the gates of the recruitment center in Tel HaShomer has been ongoing since last night. Dozens of Haredi youths arrived as part of a recruitment day for combat tracks in the IDF, including the Hashmonaim Brigade, Netzah Yehuda, and Magen HaNegev. Outside the complex, a noisy struggle took place between the two camps: radical protesters against conscription shouted "We will die and not enlist," and opposite them, supporters of the conscription responded by singing "Am Yisrael Chai."

Ahead of the recruitment day, the Rabbinical Court of the Edah HaChareidit in Jerusalem published a letter under the title "My youths have gone into captivity," in which the Haredi public was called upon to come to protest and work to convince young people not to enlist. This call has already been expressed on the ground, as opponents of the conscription stood near the recruitment center and called on the recruits not to enter the complex.