Over 2,000 Stamford Hill Orthodox Jews protest outside Israeli embassy against IDF conscription
Leaflets handed out to passers-by in Kensington, west London, contain openly anti-Zionist message
More than 2,000 members of Stamford Hill’s Strictly Orthodox Jewish community staged a protest outside the Israeli embassy in London on Thursday, voicing opposition to the forced conscription of Charedi Jews into the Israeli army.
Organisers described the demonstration as a “spontaneous, on-the-ground Stamford Hill reaction” to recent reports from Israel of Orthodox Jews being arrested and imprisoned for refusing to serve in the IDF.
Protesters cited religious grounds for their refusal and stood “in solidarity” with those “trapped alone with police and the army and the courts and the jails.”
Attendees lined Kensington Road, where a makeshift stage was set up on a parked lorry.
Speeches were delivered in Yiddish to the all-male crowd, with banners reading: “Stop Forced Drift Into The Israeli Army: Release The Conscientious Objectors”, “Stop Terrorizing Religious Jews!” and “Don’t Hold Our Kids As Hostages.”
While the demonstration highlighted the plight of Charedi conscientious objectors in Israel, leaflets distributed by stewards carried openly anti-Zionist messages.
One leaflet quoted Rabbi Green: “The Zionists should not force Orthodox Jews to join an anti-religious army to fight wars that are against their religion.”
Another stated: “The Zionist state has waged a direct assault on authentic Jewish life, with its most egregious action being the forced conscription of young Charedi men into the Israeli military.”
It added: “The Zionist movement, which seized control of the land, falsely claims to speak for Jewish people, but in truth, its policies undermine the very foundation of Jewish tradition and Torah values.”
Rabbi B. Berger of the local Satmar community, one of the protest organisers, told Jewish News he rejected claims that the demonstration insulted Israelis who have lost family members or fought against Hamas in Gaza.
“We cannot participate if the Torah and our Rabbis tell us that we’re not allowed to participate. We are not allowed to participate in the wars. We can’t fight with Hamas, with other countries—we haven’t got that authority,” he said. “We haven’t got that Sanhedrin, that authority. We haven’t had it for the last 2,000 years.”
Responding to suggestions that the protest represents a minority view in the wider Jewish community and could be used to highlight divisions, Rabbi Berger said: “People can choose to be secular, people can choose to be atheist, people can choose to be Orthodox.
“The traditional way, which goes back over the centuries, was a Torah way. Once upon a time, when all Jews followed the Torah way, we are stuck to that old way. And as Mrs Thatcher said—‘we’re not for turning.’”
Asked about the anti-Zionist messaging, Rabbi Berger replied: “There is the traditional Orthodox community that has only got the Torah way.”
As for the protesters’ message to the Israeli government and embassy officials, Rabbi Berger said: “They should know that world Orthodox Jewry stands firmly behind the Israeli Orthodox community, and all of us are one big family.”
“He emphasised that the demonstration united all of Stamford Hill’s religious sects for a common cause: “We are doing our best to help our brothers in Israel who are suffering.”
Similar protests in Israel have attracted tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled the decades-long exclusion of Charedis illegal.
Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox males are currently eligible for military service with the IDF and thousands have been sent draft orders – but very few have reported for duty.
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