Extremist ultra-Orthodox rioters attack police, stone Haredi politicians’ cars in Jerusalem anti-draft protest

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis in Jerusalem protested against recruitment into the IDF on Sunday evening, with some throwing rocks and clashing with local police after the main event.

Protesters carried signs with slogans like, “We will not enlist in the enemy army,” and, “We would rather die than enlist,” while first blocking an intersection in a heavily ultra-Orthodox area and then moving toward the city Light Rail system.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a rally against the recruitment of Haredi Jews to the IDF, in the religious neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, June 30, 2024. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Two senior ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) politicians had to be rescued by police forces after their cars were surrounded and pelted with stones and other objects, Israeli media reported.

The car of Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, was stopped by a crowd on his way home. Israeli media said protesters threw stones and beat the vehicle while shouting insults at the minister before he was escorted out of the area by police.

משבר הגיוס: מפגינים חרדים תקפו את רכבו של השר גולדקנופף שהיה בדרכו לביתו@AkivaWeisz pic.twitter.com/x509Exq3D3

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 30, 2024

Shortly after, former UTJ party leader Yaakov Litzman was also assaulted, with footage showing the windshield of his car partly shattered.

Litzman later stated, “I’m home and alright, I was rescued by a miracle but the car is totaled.”

כעת רכבו של ליצמן נופץ pic.twitter.com/gFgTA9rYLu

— Merav Sever (@meravseve) June 30, 2024

Haredi leaders drew the ire of a crowd, mostly composed of the “Jerusalem Faction,” a radical group of ultra-Orthodox individuals primarily from Jerusalem.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a rally against the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the IDF, in Jerusalem, June 30, 2024. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The group is allegedly angry at Haredi politicians for voting to apply continuity to an old IDF draft bill, which the government aims to use as the basis for a new law. In their view, this paves the way for Haredis to be recruited into the army.

Many Israeli Haredi citizens, including the Jerusalem Faction, reject any recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men out of hand.

🟥 דוברות המשטרה:
הפרות הסדר במחאה בירושלים – עד כה נעצרו חמישה חשודים, שניים מהם בגין תקיפת שוטרים, ושלושה חשודים נוספים בגין יידוי אבנים וחפצים.

גם בשעה זאת ממשיכים הכוחות לפעול באזור מרכז ירושלים. לפני זמן קצר חסמו מפרי סדר את ציר הרכבת הקלה ברחוב יפו – שרי ישראל, כוחות… pic.twitter.com/53YY3qkLSX

— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) June 30, 2024

According to the police, several officers were wounded by rioters, including one female officer who was struck in the head by an object and treated at a hospital.

After violent clashes erupted, with protesters setting fire to trash cans and blocking roads, the police used riot dispersal methods, including a water cannon, to clear the streets.

Police clash with demonstrators during a protest against the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the IDF, in Jerusalem, June 30, 2024. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Five rioters were arrested during the event, two for attacking police officers and three for throwing objects, including stones.

The protest came amid a continuing controversy surrounding the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF in a recent landmark ruling by Israel’s High Court that resulted in broad exemptions for Haredi yeshiva (religious school) students.