Severe Traffic Chaos Expected in Gush Dan as Haredi Protest and Major Concerts Overlap

The Jerusalem Faction has announced an escalation and plans to send buses with thousands of protesters to central Israel. A source in the faction told Channel 12 News, "The heavy blockages you will see today are only a tiny fraction of what is planned later." At the same time, Eyal Golan, Omer Adam and Ben Zuk will hold concerts at three venues in Gush Dan, with some 80,000 people expected to attend. The result is expected to be severe traffic disruptions and unusual congestion starting from the afternoon.

No day like this has been seen on Israel's roads: The Jerusalem Faction announced a massive protest today, Thursday, in central Israel over the arrest of yeshiva students. The large-scale protest is taking place on an evening when three major concerts are being held in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva, Eyal Golan, Omer Adam and Ben Zuk, and about 80,000 people are expected to attend. The police said, "Postpone non-urgent trips to another date."

At this stage, the Jerusalem Faction has announced a protest in central Israel only, with buses leaving from Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod, Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Elad and Ahisamakh. The large protest is apparently expected to begin at 5:00 p.m. A source in the Jerusalem Faction told Channel 12 News: "The heavy blockages you will see today are only a tiny fraction of what is planned later. The struggle against the drafting of yeshiva students is only at its beginning, and we have no intention of accepting the insolence and rudeness of turning hundreds of thousands of Torah scholars into criminals and throwing them into military prison."

"The High Court of Justice has broken the rules of the game and dismantled a historic understanding that has existed since the establishment of the state, according to which Torah scholars are an inseparable part of Jewish identity in the Land of Israel, and their place is not in the army but in the study halls," the source added. "From the moment this basic consensus was broken, from the perspective of ultra-Orthodox Jewry, the whole package fell apart."

The source concluded: "We will defend the honor of the Torah and those who study it, if necessary with our blood too. We will not give up on even one Torah student in the Land of Israel. We passed Pharaoh, we will also get through the State of Israel."

Last night, the Jerusalem Faction announced that the police had completed the transfer of 17 draft evaders, yeshiva students arrested during a harsh protest outside the home of Deputy President of the Supreme Court Noam Sohlberg, to military prison. "In doing so, the Israel Police crossed another red line and in practice declared a serious escalation in the obsessive persecution that state authorities are waging against Torah scholars," the faction said in its statement.

The Jerusalem Faction also announced: "Tomorrow we will all go out to a determined and uncompromising struggle for the honor of the Torah and those who study it, with a clear cry that will be heard across the country, to prison, not to the army!"

At the same time as the protest, three major concerts will be held in Gush Dan. Eyal Golan is performing at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Omer Adam at Ramat Gan Stadium, and Ben Zuk at the Moshava Stadium in Petah Tikva. In total, more than 80,000 people are expected to attend the shows, streaming simultaneously toward the stadium areas mainly from the afternoon hours.

The major Haredi protest, alongside the three huge concerts, is expected to create severe traffic disruptions and exceptionally heavy congestion on the main routes in Gush Dan.

Chief Superintendent Amir Gibli, head of the National Traffic Police, said, "The Israel Police Traffic Division is prepared with reinforced forces and a broad deployment, in light of the expected large number of major events and protests today in the central region. The Israel Police will allow the right to protest to be exercised, but will not permit a breach of public order, harm to police officers, or endangerment of road users. We call on the public to obey the instructions of the police officers, who will be deployed at intersections and main roads. We call on drivers in Gush Dan to avoid, ככל האפשר, traveling on intercity routes and to postpone non-urgent trips to another date."