Hundreds or thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters are expected to take to the roads on Wednesday afternoon in a motorized convoy headed for Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, protesting the arrests of draft evaders. Organizers say the slow-moving procession, traveling at up to 30 kph, is intended to disrupt traffic across large parts of Israel.
The convoy is set to depart from multiple points from the north to the south, with heavy congestion expected in Jerusalem, on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, and also near Haifa, Ashdod, Tiberias, Kiryat Gat, Rehovot, and Arad. The demonstration is being organized by Agudat Yisrael, the Hasidic faction within United Torah Judaism, and the vehicles will be decorated with signs under the slogan “Until Here.”
The campaign accompanying the convoy includes three main ads reading, “We all stand with the prisoners of Torah,” “The car convoy for Torah students,” and “To be Jewish, even in the Land of Israel.” The protest committee said the ads reflect “the voice of the broad public, from the many of the House of Israel, which can no longer remain silent,” and added that the messages will send support “directly beyond the walls of Prison 10” and show that “the entire ultra-Orthodox public is bearing the burden of the struggle.”
On Saturday night, a protest rally against the draft-arrest policy is scheduled in Bnei Brak, led by former chief rabbi and senior Shas figure Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was not invited, amid tensions inside the Sephardi party, where many members say he has not properly handled the issue of exemptions from military service for the ultra-Orthodox.
