Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked the Route 4 highway outside the central city of Bnei Brak during a demonstration against conscription to the military on Monday, the date set as a deadline for the Defense Ministry to begin drafting Haredim.
The demonstrators belonged to the extremist Jerusalem Faction, which numbers some 60,000 members and regularly demonstrates against the enlistment of yeshiva students.
Protesters held banners reading “To jail and not the army,” “We will die rather than draft,” “Stalin is here,” and “Russia is here.” Police arrested six demonstrators and forcefully cleared the highway after the demonstrators refused to leave, opening the road to traffic after two hours.
If the government wanted (and the government does NOT want), they could draft all those protestors right there and then. After all, if the excuse is "We sit and learn all day and we trust in God to save us" then the response is "Well you clearly don't sit and learn all day and you don't trust in God to save you or you'd be in yeshiva doubling down on your learning. Come along!"
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