Hawzah News Agency- The protesters, largely mobilized by the hardline faction of Jerusalem after the recent arrests of yeshiva students, carried placards condemning Zionism and the Israeli government alongside an inflammatory banner demanding “free the hostages”.
The unrest followed coordinated calls for protests published in publications affiliated with Israel’s three main hardline parties – Shas (Sephardic) and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), made up of the Degel Hatura and Agudath Yisrael factions.
The perennial debate over Haredi enlistment has reached a critical point following the October 7, 2023. With over 80,000 Haredi men aged 18-24 currently eligible for service but exempt, the military faces severe personnel shortages.
Haredi men (constituting 14% of Israel’s population, ~1.3 million people) have enjoyed a de facto military service exemption for decades, conditional on full-time yeshiva study. Approximately 66,000 Haredi men are currently of military age. More extreme factions protest under the slogan "I’d rather die than be drafted''.
The most senior Haredi spiritual authority in Israel has framed the Gaza conflict and potential conscription as an existential threat. With political channels frozen and protests escalating, the clash between national security needs and Haredi autonomy threatens to fracture Israeli society further.
Source: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
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