Police disperse haredi protest near Ofakim in response to draft-dodger riot arrests

Dozens of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters demonstrated on Monday, blocking Gilat Junction near Ofakim in southern Israel. The protest was a response to the arrest of an individual evading military draft by Ofakim police.

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Traffic at the junction has reopened and is operating as normal.

Israeli police intervened to disperse the demonstrators, who had obstructed traffic on Highway 25 and Route 241. According to police statements, protesters initially refused to clear the road after being warned that the demonstration was illegal. Some individuals then lay down on the road and near vehicles.

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After a police officer called out to the protesters to clear the road and that this was an illegal protest, the protesters began to lie down on the road and next to the wheels of vehicles.

This demonstration occurs shortly after 17 haredi men were indicted for their involvement in a protest on April 28. During that incident, they allegedly broke into the home of Brig.-Gen. Yuval Yamin, the IDF Chief Military Police Officer. The charges include rioting, trespassing, and malicious damage. The indictment, filed at the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court, details how protesters carried signs with slogans like “War on the draft law” and shouted phrases such as “We will die and not enlist.” The home was occupied while Yamin's wife and two children were present.

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War on the draft law, in actions and not words

The current protests and riots highlight escalating tensions surrounding the arrest of draft dodgers and the broader issue of yeshiva student enlistment in Israel.

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We will die and not enlist