Jerusalem light rail halted as ultra-Orthodox protests continue outside military prison

Ultra-Orthodox protests against military conscription and the arrest of draft evaders continued for a second straight day on Monday, disrupting Jerusalem and the area around Military Prison 10 near Beit Lid, next to Kfar Yona.

In Jerusalem, the light rail was stopped near Mount Herzl after a protest in the area. The light rail operator said service was halted, under police instruction, between the Central Bus Station and Mount Herzl, while partial service continued from Neve Yaakov North to the Central Bus Station and from Mount Herzl to Hadassah Ein Kerem.

At the same time, hundreds gathered outside Prison 10 for a protest described as being in support of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders. This time the demonstration was organized by Shas. Rabbi Yehuda Cohen, a member of the Council of Torah Sages, and Knesset members Michael Malkieli and Yoni Meshirki of Shas addressed the crowd from the stage.

The site hosted a much larger protest the day before, when thousands of Gur Hasidim demonstrated there and effectively shut down Kfar Yona. Earlier Monday morning, ultra-Orthodox protesters unexpectedly blocked Route 4 at the entrance to Bnei Brak during rush hour. Police removed them by force, which the protesters said was excessive. During that protest, Bnei Brak- Ramat Gan police station commander Chief Supt. Yuval Shavit was filmed tearing a protester’s pants and dragging him along the road.