In a protest over an effort to coerce a community member into participating in the nation’s mandatory military draft, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men on Wednesday blocked a key Jerusalem crossroads, slowing traffic and hampering public transportation around the city.
On the city’s light rail lines, the protesters formed a sizable circle and sang, danced, and prayed.
Traffic was queued up for many blocks when train service was suspended.
The protest served as a prelude to an impending conflict over the nation’s military draft.
Jewish males are required to serve in the military, but politically potent ultra-Orthodox parties have secured exemptions for their communities that allow men to enroll at religious seminaries full-time.
The vast majority of secular people are outraged and resentful about these exemptions.
The ultra-Orthodox parties, which are a crucial element of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, aim to tighten the exemption system while the government works on a new draft law.
The exclusions, according to opponents, must end because they are unfair, say prominent participants in a large-scale protest movement against Netanyahu’s court reform.
Despite being typically excluded from military service, young ultra-Orthodox men must nevertheless register with the army.
According to Israeli media, the arrest of a young religious man who refused to submit the papers sparked Wednesday’s protest.
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