Mass Vehicle Protest Over Draft Arrests Exposes Deep Haredi Split

Hundreds of cars are expected to join a nationwide protest on Wednesday against the arrest of yeshiva students and married Haredi men accused of draft evasion. The demonstration, announced Monday night by a joint committee of Hasidic movements and the Jerusalem Faction, is being presented as one of the largest car protests seen in the Haredi street in recent years.

Organizers say the convoy will begin at 4:00 p.m. from 19 separate locations, including major Haredi centers such as Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Beit Shemesh and Elad, as well as Haifa, Netanya, Tiberias and Arad. The various convoys are then expected to merge on central roads and continue together to the military prison where the Haredi detainees are being held.

The protest headquarters says the operation has been carefully planned, with route division, traffic guidance and an independent escort system. Haredi drivers are being asked to register in advance through a dedicated phone line. The organizers also unveiled the official logo for the cars, under the slogan, “Enough! There is no way without the way of Torah!”

The initiative reflects unusual cooperation among Israel’s major Hasidic courts, including Gur, Belz and Vizhnitz. At the same time, it highlights a political rift inside ultra-Orthodox society, since Degel HaTorah and Shas are not supporting the event and have not publicly mentioned it in their official media or party publications.