Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters gathered overnight between Wednesday and Thursday at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443 after the community’s “Black Flag” alert system was activated to mobilize people against arrests of draft evaders. What began as a routine vehicle inspection quickly escalated into violent clashes involving damage to police property and fights with bystanders.
According to police, officers from the Modi'in Illit station stopped a vehicle they found suspicious near the checkpoint. They discovered that the driver, a man in his 20s from the city, had been driving a car that had not passed an annual safety test for more than a year. After being dealt with for the traffic violation, he received a ticket and was released, at which point the “Black Flag” system was triggered and hundreds converged on the scene.
Videos from the area show demonstrators puncturing the tires of a police car and vandalizing it, while violent scuffles broke out between Haredim and passersby who were caught in the area. In one clip, a protester told a policeman, “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, even that they didn’t give! That’s the issue.” Another protester shouted, “You will not arrest yeshiva boys,” and the officer replied, “I know, I know.”
The unrest came hours after the “Haredi disruption day” protest against the arrest of draft evaders and draft dodgers. That protest included convoys from 19 locations across Israel that drove slowly toward Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, where several draft refusers are being held. Police said tens of thousands of Haredim took part, causing severe traffic jams for hours. Additional clashes were reported in Arad, where a passerby was seen hitting a protester, and in another video, dozens of teenagers were filmed chasing demonstrators in a residential neighborhood. At the end of the protest day, MK Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism said, “We were privileged to sanctify God’s name... The message that came out from among thousands of windshields is clear: ‘Enough!’”
