Thousands of ultra-orthodox protest looming army enlistment
Demonstrators also threw rocks at an ultra-orthodox minister's car as he drove past the really in Jerusalem
Thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday against a Supreme Court ruling ordering them to be drafted to the IDF.
Some were holding signs saying “[We won’t] join the enemy’s army” while others burned garbage cans and threw rocks at police officers.
Rocks were also thrown at Construction and Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf’s car when he drove past the rally.
The extremist Eda Haredit and Jerusalem Faction were among those demonstrating on Sunday, but rabbis from the Shas party and Agudat Israel also encouraged people to join the demonstration, according to Haaretz Daily.
The demonstration comes after the Supreme Court ruled against a law exempting ultra-orthodox from the army.
“In the midst of a gruelling war, the burden of inequality is harsher than ever and demands a solution…. Discrimination regarding the most precious thing of all – life itself – is of the worst kind,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling last week.
The “status-quo” agreement in Israel has exempted ultra-orthodox boys and girls from the army for decades, whereas secular and less religious Israeli Jewish girls and boys have to serve roughly two and three years in the IDF respectively.
In 2017, after years of debate over the arrangement, the Supreme Court finally ruled that the exemption of strictly-Orthodox from the army was unconstitutional.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
