Tens of Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Israelis Paralyze the Country in Revolt Over Military Draft

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis flooded into the streets on Monday, blocking roads and railways and setting cars on fire in one of the largest demonstrations yet against mandatory military service, a protest that largely paralyzed the center of the country.

The unrest shut down major arteries including Highway 1 and Highway 4, choked Jerusalem's Chords Bridge and brought traffic in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area to a standstill. Protesters also blocked train tracks near Ben-Gurion Airport, disrupting one of Israel's busiest transit corridors. Police deployed water cannons and mounted officers to disperse the crowds, and said demonstrators attacked a soldier who had stepped off a bus near one of the protests.

The immediate trigger was the recent arrest of Haredi yeshiva students who had refused to report for conscription. For many in the ultra-Orthodox community, full-time religious study is a sacred calling and military service an existential threat to their way of life. "From our perspective, going into the army means giving up our religion," demonstrators said, "and we don't want to give up our religion."

The dispute has simmered for years but turned acute after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that blanket exemptions long granted to ultra-Orthodox men could no longer stand, ordering the state to begin drafting them like other citizens. Years of war have sharpened the resentment of secular and national-religious Israelis who have shouldered repeated rounds of reserve duty while Haredi men remained exempt.

The community's leaders have framed the enforcement drive as an assault on a way of life that prizes lifelong Torah study above all else. Authorities, meanwhile, say the military simply cannot sustain its operational tempo while exempting a fast-growing share of the draft-age population. The arrests of students who ignored their call-up notices were intended as a signal that the new rules would be enforced, but they instead became a rallying cry, drawing crowds that swelled far beyond the scale of previous demonstrations and spilling into confrontations that left police scrambling to reopen blocked junctions.

The standoff carries acute political stakes for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose governing coalition depends on ultra-Orthodox parties that have demanded legislation shielding their constituents from the draft. Caught between a court that insists on enforcement and partners who threaten to bolt, Netanyahu faces a dilemma that could ultimately determine the survival of his government.

Monday's scenes — burning vehicles, gridlocked highways and clashes with police — laid bare how deeply the conscription fight has fractured Israeli society at a moment when the military is stretched across multiple fronts. With neither the courts nor the protesters showing signs of backing down, officials warned that the disruptions could become a recurring feature of Israeli life rather than a one-day spasm of anger.