Haredi Protest Against Arrests of Draft Evaders Set to Snarl Roads Nationwide

A Haredi protest against the arrest of draft evaders is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and is expected to continue until 8 p.m. Protesters are set to depart in vehicle convoys from 19 starting points across Israel and head toward Prison 10, near Beit Lid camp.

Police and organizers expect multiple road closures in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, including Route 1 at the city entrance, the Chords Bridge, the Bar Ilan Street area and nearby roads. Additional disruption is expected on Route 1 near Ben Gurion Interchange, Route 4 at Geha, Aluf Sadeh, Gannot, Hashivah and Im HaMoshavot interchanges, Route 6 at Ben Shemen, Nesharim and Kesem interchanges, Route 20 near Namir and HaShalom roads, Route 40 near the airport interchange, Route 57 near Netanya-Kfar Yona, Route 444 near Elad, and Route 471 at Sha'ar HaYarkon.

Organizers published the convoy departure map, listing Elad, Ashdod, Tiberias, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Geva Binyamin, Haifa, Hatzor HaGlilit, Jerusalem, Modi'in Illit, Nof HaGalil, Netanya, Emmanuel, Afula, Arad, Safed, Kiryat Gat and Rehovot.

Leaders of the protest reportedly warned, according to Kan News, that if even one convoy is blocked, they will get out of their vehicles and shut down all roads at once. The day before, Haredi protesters blocked Route 6 northbound near Nitzanei Oz after the arrest of a draft evader. On Tuesday, Kan News reported that police approved the convoy protest but conditioned it on not entering the prison area, because the road to Prison 10 passes through Kfar Yona and authorities want to avoid friction with local residents.