Thousands of Cars Set Out in Major Ultra-Orthodox Protest Over Draft Arrests

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, what organizers describe as one of the largest and best-coordinated vehicle protests in the ultra-Orthodox community in recent years is set to begin. The planning committee published a map of 20 departure points, and the protest is expected to send thousands of cars on a nationwide drive against the arrest of Torah students, which organizers frame as the opening move in a longer campaign. The main destination is the military prison at Kfar Yona, and the campaign headquarters estimates about 2,500 vehicles will take part.

The protest will be launched from cities and towns including Elad, Ashdod, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Nof HaGalil, Netanya, Modi'in Illit, Emmanuel, Arad, Afula, Safed, Kiryat Gat, Rehovot, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tiberias and Hatzor. Organizers issued detailed instructions to drivers, telling them to travel at a steady 50 km/h, keep double the usual safety distance, avoid sudden stops, and decorate their vehicles with signs and flags. Volunteers at the departure sites will help install the materials, and participants were told to join a dedicated update line for live route changes and official instructions.

The organizers stressed that the protest is coordinated with police and warned participants not to seek confrontations, provocations or clashes with officers or civilians. They also said no one should initiate road blockages or take any step likely to trigger field confrontations.

Police are preparing their own response and are considering preventing the convoys from reaching the prison compound itself, instead directing them to a distant parking area outside Kfar Yona. According to reports, officers may also issue fines to drivers who move too slowly. A senior police source told Kikar HaShabbat that, as in past protests over the judicial overhaul and the hostages, police allow demonstrations but impose restrictions when needed, and no final decision has been made yet.

Kfar Yona Mayor Albert Tayeb said he intends to lead a "human wall" to keep protesters out of the city. He said, "This is not about the Haredim. There are Haredim in the coalition too, and this also happened before in the Shde Teiman case. In the name of democracy, you cannot close a city. We will not allow it to be shut down." He added that the city would be blocked near Givat Alonim and Yafe Nof if demonstrations take place. Transport officials expect severe congestion and major disruptions if the thousands of vehicles spread across dozens of routes nationwide. The protest comes amid a wave of arrests of yeshiva students and avrechim.