TEL AVIV – Israel Police deployed stun grenades and batons to disperse ultra-Orthodox protesters who blocked a major highway near the Haredi suburb of Bnei Brak following the arrest of men evading mandatory military service.
The crackdown marks a significant escalation in the state’s efforts to enforce conscription among the Haredi community, a long-standing point of social and legal friction in Israel. The use of batons by the Tel Aviv District Police is the first instance of such tactics being employed in the region since 2020, underscoring a tougher approach to street protests over the draft.
Police Tactics and Casualty Reports
Footage of the confrontation indicates that officers began deploying stun grenades within minutes of the demonstration’s commencement, after protesters reportedly refused orders to clear the roadway. In addition to the grenades, police used batons to push back the crowds and reopen the traffic artery linking Bnei Brak and central Tel Aviv.
Medics from Hatzalah reported treating eight wounded individuals at the scene, including several who suffered contusions and shock from the blasts. Several of the injured were evacuated and transported to hospitals for further care. No police injuries were immediately reported.
The Israel Police confirmed that five protesters have been arrested during the operation on suspicion of disturbing public order and blocking a main traffic route. Video evidence from the scene also shows an officer ripping a protester’s pants while dragging him across the road, an incident that is already drawing criticism from Haredi leaders and rights advocates and may prompt internal review.
Conscription Conflict and Civil Disobedience
The unrest was triggered by the recent arrests of Haredi men who have evaded mandatory conscription into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). For decades, a system of exemptions allowed yeshiva students to avoid military service to pursue full-time Torah study under arrangements stemming from Israel’s 1949 Security Service Law and subsequent government decisions. Those long-standing practices have come under renewed scrutiny after a series of Supreme Court rulings questioned the legality and equality of blanket exemptions under Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws.
The hardline Haredi movement associated with Rabbi Tzvi Friedman has vowed to intensify its resistance to these arrests, framing non-compliance with the draft as an act of religious and civil disobedience against what it describes as state overreach into the autonomy of Torah study institutions.
“When they try to shut down the Torah and the faith – we will shut down the state,” the movement stated. “The factories will be closed, the offices will be shut down – and all commerce will come to a standstill at a time when yeshiva students are being persecuted.”
Leaders in the movement have called for rolling protests, roadblocks and coordinated work stoppages if additional yeshiva students are detained, raising the prospect of extended disruption as the government moves to implement a new conscription framework.
Political Friction Within the Right-Wing Bloc
The severity of the police response has caused immediate friction between Haredi political leaders and the current government’s security apparatus, exposing a fault line inside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious coalition at a time when it is already under pressure to present a unified policy on the draft.
Arye Dery, head of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party Shas, called on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to “wake up.” Dery argued that the police response was disproportionate, stating it “cannot be” that Haredi protesters are treated more brutally than the “Kaplan Street anarchists who sought to destroy the country,” a reference to the anti-government protesters who frequently gather in Tel Aviv against judicial overhaul plans.
Israel Police officers have arrested five protesters as of the latest report. Officials in the National Security Ministry have signaled they expect further demonstrations as the coalition races to craft a new draft law that satisfies both Haredi parties and the requirements set by Israel’s top court. Any legislation that emerges will have to navigate intense public scrutiny over equality in military service and could face additional legal challenges before it is fully implemented.
