Mass Ultra-Orthodox Protest Planned From 19 Cities Could Snarl Traffic Across Israel

Agudat Yisrael said on Wednesday that a large-scale protest movement will begin Thursday at about 4:00 p.m., with ultra-Orthodox demonstrators expected to leave from 19 locations across Israel and disrupt major roads. The organizers said the rallies are meant to press for recognition of draft evasion, and they described the effort as a nationwide show of force stretching from Safed in the north to Arad in the south.

According to the organizers, thousands of drivers from different ultra-Orthodox circles have already signed up to join the central convoy, which they said will converge on main routes. The planned departure cities are Elad, Ashdod, Tiberias, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Geva Binyamin, Haifa, Hatzor HaGlilit, Jerusalem, Modi'in Illit, Nof HaGalil, Netanya, Emanuel, Afula, Arad, Safed, Kiryat Gat and Rehovot. Their slogan is, “Enough.”

The protest, titled “Enough, there is no way without the way of the Torah,” will also include convoys heading toward military prisons, including Prison 10. The organizing committee said the messages are intended to send “voices of support” beyond the prison walls and show solidarity with those they called prisoners of the “world of Torah.”

The movement comes one week after a previous major demonstration, when dozens of radical protesters blocked Route 4 and were filmed clashing with police and drivers. That protest, near the Geha Interchange by Bnei Brak, began at 8:30 a.m. in response to the arrest of a draft evader who received a 14-day prison sentence. The clashes included mounted police, batons and stun grenades. Haredi lawmakers criticized police conduct, and Shas leader Aryeh Deri attacked National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, saying, “Itamar Ben Gvir, wake up,” and urging him to stop the violence against “sons of Torah.”