Ultra-Orthodox mass protests expected to jam roads nationwide after Goldknopf warning

In the north, traffic was heavy on Route 4 northbound from the Kary Na’aman interchange to Kfar Masaryk, on Route 65 between the ‘Iron interchange and Mi Ami Junction, and in the opposite direction from Sdeh Warburg Junction to Megiddo Junction. Route 70 was congested northbound from the Sumeikh Junction to Abbaim Junction, and southbound from the entrance to Gdida to Yassif Junction. In the south, police said Route 4 northbound was also slow between Bat Hadar Junction and Ashkelon Junction.

The protests were linked to the arrests of draft dodgers, and the political pressure came to a head in remarks by MK Yitzhak Goldknopf on Kol Berama radio. He warned, “The day will come when we turn the country upside down, but that is for another stage. The whole country will be a bonfire. Do you think they will make us slaves and maidservants?” He added, “The moment will come when everyone will go out to demonstrate across the country. We will take the prisons and turn them into yeshivas.”