Hymns Turn Political as Protesters and Yeshiva Students Face Off in Bnei Brak

A protest by Mothers at the Front blocked parts of Bnei Brak on Friday afternoon, where demonstrators on Kehanman Street sang Israel's national anthem, Hatikvah. Across from them, yeshiva students and married students, or avrechim, answered by singing the biblical line "Otzvu etza vetufar, daberu davar velo yakum, ki imanu El" from Isaiah.

The event was part of the Mothers at the Front campaign to obstruct the city in response to ultra-Orthodox protests against the draft decree. Beforehand, the movement's leader, attorney Ayelet Hashachar Saidoff, said, "Blockades will be met with blockades" and that the protesters intended to "disrupt the lives" of Bnei Brak residents.

Video from the scene showed dozens of protesters and yeshiva students standing opposite one another, with the standoff staying verbal and musical rather than turning physical. The article says the protest angered many local residents because it took place close to the start of Shabbat, when families are preparing for the day and streets are crowded with pedestrians and children.

Despite the loud warnings, only a limited number of protesters actually arrived, according to reports. The confrontation was not entirely peaceful, however, since another clip showed an ultra-Orthodox man being attacked after shouting at the demonstrators, with his son pulling him away to protect him. Police intervened several times to separate protesters from residents.

The Bnei Brak demonstration came after a large anti-arrest protest on Wednesday involving about 7,000 vehicles from across the country, organized from 19 different starting points. That protest was aimed at the wave of arrests of yeshiva students and avrechim and was described as one of the most significant ultra-Orthodox protests in recent years.