Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators clashed with police in Jerusalem on Wednesday following the arrest of a Yeshiva student who failed to report for army service.
The demonstrators blocked traffic and interrupted light rail trains from running, causing the police to arrest 30 people involved in the public disorder.
Following the arrest of the draft dodging student Yitzhak Aryeh, a statement was put out by a Jerusalem Faction called “Committee for Saving the Torah World,” which is leading the demonstrations against drafting ultra-Orthodox students, slamming lawmakers for failing to protect them.
“While there are people sitting in the Knesset who call themselves the representatives of the ultra-Orthodox public yet enact laws of destruction and devastation to the Torah world, yeshiva students are crying out in the military prison whose only sin is refusing to take part in the despicable trade in souls. The ultra-Orthodox public will embark on a great struggle for the true heroic soldiers, who protect the holy yeshivas with the bodies and souls,” the statement said.
In September last year, Israel’s High Court struck down a law which regulates exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox recruits and ruled to remove the amendments put in place, which lowered the annual quota of ultra-Orthodox soldiers enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces.
The Israeli parliament (Knesset) has so far failed reach an agreement on new legislation.
