Hundreds of Haredi protesters gathered overnight at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443 after the community’s “Black Flag” alert system was activated to block arrests of draft evaders. What began as a routine roadside inspection quickly escalated into violent clashes with police, damage to a police vehicle, and fights with bystanders who were caught in the scene.
According to police, officers from the Modi'in Illit station stopped a car they found suspicious near the checkpoint. They discovered that the driver, a resident in his 20s, had been driving a vehicle that had not passed its annual test for more than a year. After receiving a traffic citation, he was released, but the alert system was then triggered and hundreds rushed to the area.
Video from the scene shows protesters puncturing the tires of a police patrol car and damaging it, while street fights broke out between Haredim and passersby. In one clip, a protester told an officer, “You wanted to give a ticket, you’ll get anarchy,” adding, “That’s how it works today.” The officer was filmed pleading with the crowd, saying, “No, they just wanted to give a ticket, they didn’t even do that! That’s the point.” Another protester shouted, “You will not arrest yeshiva students,” and the officer replied, “I know, I know.”
The violence came hours after a large “Haredi disruption day” protest against arrests of draft evaders and people avoiding military service. That protest involved convoys from 19 locations across Israel moving slowly toward Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, where several draft refusers are held, causing major traffic jams for hours. Thousands took part, and clashes were also reported in Arad.
At the end of the protest day, MK Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism, who traveled in one of the convoys, said, “We were privileged to sanctify God’s name! Today we proved there is no path without the path of Torah. The message from among the thousands of windshields is clear: ‘Enough is enough!’”
