Jerusalem – Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked the main entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday, bringing traffic to a grinding halt during the evening commute to protest the arrest of members of their community for refusing to register for the military draft.
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Israel has compulsory military service for most Jewish men, but the ultra-Orthodox, whose political parties enjoy an outsized role in the country’s coalition politics, have secured exemptions. Most ultra-Orthodox men have the option of receiving repeated deferrals, as long as they register with the military.
But the protesters refuse to even register. “We will die and not enlist,” they chanted Thursday.
It was the first such protest since the death last month of the group’s leader, Shmuel Auerbach. On his orders over the past year, thousands of men in black hats and side-locks would mob intersections, stopping traffic and scuffling with the public and police.
The military exemptions have angered many secular and mainstream Jews, whose children are drafted after high school.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners are currently arguing about whether to extend the draft exemptions as part of a budget debate. A key non-religious party has threatened to bolt the coalition if the budget is not passed soon.
Draft privileges go back to when Israel’s founders granted exemptions to a few hundred gifted students to help rebuild the schools of Jewish learning destroyed in the Holocaust. But the numbers have ballooned dramatically since then. The ultra-Orthodox argue that they serve the country through religious study.
Why generalize all Chareidim in the headline? Correct headline would be, “small sect of Charedim, blocking roads, etc.
SHANDA !
Go learn torah rather than protest. After all your argument is that Torah is Magen.
I would like to hear from those religious people when some major problem happens and they are looking to be protected by the police, or the military and Israel says to these people we just don’t have enough people to protect your area and so you will have to take care of yourselves until we can get to you. I bet there will be screaming about the government how bad it is and how they are prejudice against them. Other then they just don’t have enough people to protect certain areas and all those people had to do is help Israel protect itself against their enemies. Look at all the great leaders in the beginning of the Torah and how they all came to protect the people and their areas. It is not anti Torah to protect.
The seculars should block haredi roads erev Shabbos. That would teach them a lesson in consideration.
The piece of garbage walking around with the yellow star should as my grandmother what it really means to be persecuted.
These zombies follow every radical ;leader’ that appeals to them instead of learning in yeshiva The aren’t ‘bnei torah at all just bums dressed in black clothes.
I’ll bet that the guy with the Yellow Star had grandparents enjoying a Bar-B-Q and slurping beer while our grandparents were being butchered by the animals that ordered them to wear Yellow Stars!
Why can’t they just release this bucir from jail & all protest are gone?
Sounds like isreal wants this protest,
Btw, when they closed the streets by the gay parade I didn’t see all this commenters sould be so upset, so I guess u just hate jews.
Alter, i will say it like it is. You are an NK piece of drek and you would do all of us a favor if you just shut your ignorant pisk
Learn how to spell. Its Israel, not isreal. And what is a bucir? Yesterday, you had the nerve to say that Israel stole the land. Crawl back into your rent subsidized hole in kj.
It could be that the rabbi/leaders can learn a gemora better than me, but I would not give them much credence if they told me how to fix a sewer leak. Also here too, these rabbis have over stepped their boundries. This is not how Yeshiva men act.
Hoodlum, vandals and law breakers. They are a disgrace to the Torah and are making a big Chilul haShem.
to alter g4
like it or not (i dont) the gay parade has a permit from the govt so as long as this govt runs the country the gays can march
last i checked peleg has no permit
only a go protest signal from a bunch of so called rabbis whose bushy payos resemble a horses tail !!!!
From Purim onward the Yeshivas are basically closed – everyone is running around finding something to do.At least some guys do something good like wash cars, baking matzos for Pesach,and some guys take to the streets. How about they go to the army these 2 months they are anyway not learning?
P.S. is that big fatso in the picture the fat guy that is always arrested and dragged away by the police? Anyone see the mask made of his face on Purim – how funny was that?
why should they be drafted in so called Israeli Arab CITIZENS are not, at least these bochurim don’t blow up cafes, smash Jewish babies heads with rocks, convert Jewish women to other religions nor work for Hamas or Hezbollah. I agree ALL citizens should serve but that includes Mohammed, Ahmed, Ali and Fatima.
Others have commented but I must add my two cents.
My parents and their entire families had to wear the yellow star. Most perished. I always wondered what happened to those miraculously rescued. My personal belief is that those rescued have a gaava thinking they are untouchable. I believe theses bums wearing the yellow star come from that group.
Why can’t they just release this bucir from jail & all protest are gone?
Sounds like isreal wants this protest,
Btw, when they closed the streets by the gay parade I didn’t see all this commenters sould be so upset, so I guess u just hate jews.