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2026-06-19 Israel-Palestine-Jordan
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'Fight Yourself!' Thousands of Angry Orthodox Jews Riot in Israel
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Israel's ultra-conservative Jews, the so-called Haredim, have once again made their presence felt. In response to a series of government-initiated arrests of ideological draft dodgers, disgruntled Haredim staged a protest involving thousands.
They blocked a section of Highway 4 near the city of Bnei Brak during the morning rush hour, and later laid siege to one of the local prisons where draft dodgers were being held.
The government, apparently, didn't expect such brazenness and coordination from its opponents. Nor was it prepared for backstabbing from formally friendly political forces. However, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally, this crisis has exacerbated completely different problems.
SUMMONING CANNOT BE IGNORED
The acute phase of the crisis in relations between the Haredim and the central government has been ongoing since 2024, when the authorities began revising the conditions for deferment from military service for students of religious institutions (yeshivas) and increased the quota for the conscription of Orthodox into the army. However, the roots of the tensions actually lie much deeper.
The option of a spiritual path has existed in Israeli law since the country's founding and is intended to ensure the continuity and preservation of Jewish traditions as one of the pillars of statehood.
For a long time, Haredim had the option of extending their deferment annually throughout their studies, allowing them to evade military service for decades by changing schools and advancing their academic qualifications. This created a serious shortage of conscripts, forcing them to increase quotas in other categories.
For nearly two decades, the authorities attempted to resolve the issue amicably—through propaganda and the launch of special projects (such as the Netzach Yehuda special battalion for religious conscripts)—but to no avail. Of the 1.3 million Haredim (more than half of whom were of draft age), no more than 9% of eligible young men enlisted in active service. And with the onset of a series of military conflicts (Gaza, Lebanon, Iran), this figure fell to a historic low (around 3%), forcing the authorities to tighten the screws.
It is not surprising that a cohesive protest movement quickly emerged from the ultra-Orthodox communities, which intensified significantly in the run-up to the autumn parliamentary elections in the Jewish state.
LAY SIEGE
A serious escalation occurred on the morning of June 17, when a large group of activists blocked a busy highway near Bnei Brak, a predominantly Conservative Jewish community east of Tel Aviv. This resulted in kilometers-long traffic jams and effectively disrupted transportation to Israel's commercial capital.
However, while, according to eyewitnesses, several hundred Haredim participated in the blockade protest, by mid-day the number of demonstrators had grown tenfold.
Disgruntled Orthodox Jews of all ages flocked to Military Prison No. 10, where several yeshiva students had been detained the day before. One of them, allegedly reporting to the recruitment office voluntarily for "documentary confirmation of his spiritual path," was detained and placed in a holding cell along with the "pseudo-students."
According to police reports, between 12,000 and 15,000 people took part in the protests, making them the largest single ultra-Orthodox gathering in recent years.
The core of the protests were Gur Hasidim, representatives of the largest Orthodox group in modern Israel. At least 6,000 of them gathered at the rallies.
The Gur admor (head of the Hasidic community), Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, took part in the demonstrations alongside his flock, criticizing the authorities for their “unjustified rudeness” and pressure on believers directly from the improvised barricades.
Other Orthodox authorities joined his appeals. As a result, the event ceased to resemble a typical spontaneous rally and took on the character of a spiritual and political message.
THE BERRIES ARE AHEAD
Although the police and security services managed to disperse the protest relatively quickly, using force to calm the most violent protesters, the Haredim do not plan to give up.
The Jerusalem Faction (Peleg Yerushalmi) movement, which supported the Orthodox protests, officially stated that the closure of Israel's largest highway was only a warning signal to the authorities.
If the government fails to heed the aspirations of the Conservative community, the Haredim threaten to intensify the protest campaign and bring even more protesters to the streets, as well as completely paralyze the operation of ground and air transportation in the country.
The main argument the Orthodox use to justify their unconstitutional behavior is that there is no real need for yeshiva recruits: Israel has completed most of its intensive military campaigns—primarily against Iran and Hamas in the Gaza Strip—and is coping with the remaining areas with its existing forces.
Therefore, the Haredi call has evolved from a forced step into a political tool that Netanyahu's team allegedly uses to manipulate the electorate.
However, the prime minister's opponents are exploiting the plight of the faithful just as effectively as he does. A few days before the incident in Bnei Brak, the Orthodox parties in the Knesset (parliament) threatened Netanyahu with disrupting the early elections if his Likud party continued to reject laws proposed by rabbis. Even though many of them still required significant revision.
Conservatives also attempted to turn the Orthodox protests in Bnei Brak to their advantage. Asher Media, spokesperson for the Shas party (the largest ultra-Orthodox party in the Knesset), stated that Netanyahu supports, albeit privately, a selective end to the arrests of draft dodgers and an amnesty for all ultra-Orthodox members. This predictably sparked outrage among secular Israelis, who immediately demanded a detailed explanation from the prime minister.
DISPUTES WITH THE ORTHODOX
The social tension surrounding the Haredim, which had simmered for several years, became a subject of debate between the government and the opposition with the start of the active phase of the parliamentary elections. Almost all forces attempted to convert this tension into political gains.
Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman promised voters a significant tightening of legislation against Haredim, especially those who deliberately destabilize the situation within the country and coordinate and incite protests.
"While IDF soldiers are fighting in Lebanon, radical ultra-Orthodox members of the Peleg Yerushalmi movement are confronting our security forces. They are blocking major roads, disrupting rail service, and harming those who work, serve, and pay taxes. When we return to power, I promise to ensure that this radical organization is outlawed, " he said in a video message.
However, the ultra-Orthodox also found allies in the government.
In addition to the ultra-Orthodox parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism), National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir unexpectedly came out in defense of the Haredim. The controversial politician not only criticized the security forces he oversees for "unjustified brutality," threatening them with investigations, but also proposed revising the regulations for dispersing unauthorized rallies.
He promised to ban the use of stun grenades and other non-lethal weapons. The Knesset, however, did not appreciate such statements and even threatened Ben-Gvir with early resignation if he continued to flirt with religious radicals.
IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE A ROAD
As for Netanyahu himself, he prefers not to take sides and generally distances himself from the issue.
The crisis in Bnei Brak is being commented on primarily by his close associates from the Likud party and supposedly neutral ministers, while the prime minister shifts the focus to other issues during briefings.
The reason for this seemingly strange behavior lies in the urgent revision of the positioning strategy ahead of the parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu initially planned to boost his cabinet's approval ratings through joint foreign policy victories with the United States, but Washington's recent decision to reach a deal with Iran has seriously disrupted these plans, especially given the restrictions now imposed on Israel by its alliance obligations to the White House.
Netanyahu's core electorate considers the results of the military campaigns to be a clear loss, and therefore the prime minister will prefer not to refer to them again during the election campaign.
At the same time, shifting the focus to domestic policy will be more difficult: a conflict with the Haredim will not bring Likud much support from secular Israelis, whose attention has already been firmly captured by the liberal platform of Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, but it is guaranteed to alienate the ultra-conservative and far-right voters who have largely kept the current coalition afloat. This significantly increases the risk of Netanyahu and his team losing the upcoming elections.
One way or another, the prime minister won't be able to ignore the crisis for too long: Haredim and secular Israelis are expecting a response from him. And not a compromise, but one that supports the position of one side in the conflict.
That's why Netanyahu is frantically searching for a Solomonic solution to get out of the crisis with minimal image damage.
Enraged by arrests of draft evaders, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community is in revolt
[IsraelTimes] Yeshiva students are blocking roads and breaking into police stations as Haredi parties hold coalition’s legislative agenda hostage. PM said to be considering halting detentions.
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