Anti-Haredi Protest Heads to Bnei Brak After Week of Nationwide Road Disruptions

A counterprotest against Haredi demonstrations is set to begin on Friday in Bnei Brak, after this week’s Haredi protests caused major traffic disruptions across Israel. Between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., hundreds of protesters are expected to arrive in the city to protest what they call unequal burden-sharing, and to disrupt traffic at Bnei Brak’s entrances.

The organizers say the protest was coordinated with police and will take place at several sites at once. The main gathering point is the Coca-Cola Bridge, from where demonstrators will walk toward Bnei Brak. Drivers were also urged to enter “HaRav Kahneman 120” into Waze and repeatedly drive slowly until 4:00 p.m. The protest slogan is, “The convoy of draft evaders will not disrupt civilians’ lives.”

At the same time, a convoy of vehicles left a parking lot near Prison 10 in Kfar Yona for Bnei Brak, joined by residents of Kfar Yona, Kfar Saba and surrounding towns who say they were affected by the recent road blockages. One of the leading figures is Ilai Hershkovich-Hershurgin, head of the Free Seculars movement, who said, “Dina de-Bnei Brak is like Dina de-Kfar Yona and Tel Aviv,” and added that the public has reached “a breaking point.” He said, “We will no longer support institutionalized evasion while our soldiers are falling in Lebanon.”

Other organizers include Yekutiel Epstein, 19, a compulsory IDF soldier serving in the West Bank, and lawyer Ayelet HaShachar Seydoff, head of Mothers on the Front. They say the goal is to make Haredi residents feel what it is like when their daily life is stopped by road closures, while stressing that the protest is meant as a response, not revenge. More protest points inside Bnei Brak are planned, but their locations were not disclosed in advance.