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Haredim

Ultra-Orthodox Draft Protests Shut Down Highways and Train Lines Across Israel

Ultra-Orthodox draft protesters shut down multiple highways and train routes across Israel on Thursday, June 11, bringing traffic to a standstill for more than two hours. Demonstrators first blocked Highway 4 south of Ramat Gan before fanning out to Highway 1 near the Ganot Interchange and Highway 6 near the Ben Shemen Interchange, west of Ben-Gurion Airport, with additional closures on Highways 34 and 25 near Netivot.

Two people were injured during the unrest: a 21-year-old haredi protester struck by a car on Highway 1, and a 93-year-old man whose circumstances were not released. A woman later turned herself in to Israel Police and confessed to driving into protesters. Footage circulating on social media showed haredi youths clashing physically with drivers and officers, and the windshield of a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Miri Regev was smashed in one confrontation. Train service was suspended in central Israel, leaving Ben-Gurion Airport in chaos as stranded passengers waited for word that rail traffic would resume.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett condemned the day's events as harrowing, describing blockades, violence, and what he called a civil war on Israel's roads, while insisting that such conduct does not reflect the nation's character. He pledged that order would soon be restored and vowed to dismantle what he termed a “state within a state,” ending funding for draft evasion and bringing all citizens into the workforce and into IDF service. Police continued working to clear the routes and reopen the rail lines as the disruptions stretched into the evening.

(JPost/VFI News)

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1