Haredi Anti-Conscription Protesters Block Route 1 Near Jerusalem

by | Jun 25, 2026 | News

cars on road during daytime

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators blocked Route 1 outside Jerusalem on Wednesday as convoys set out from across the country to protest the detention of yeshiva students arrested for evading military service, in the latest flashpoint over one of Israel’s most divisive issues.

After more than four hours, the protest convoys turned around and began heading home. Most demonstrators never reached their intended destination, the Neve Tzedek military prison in Kfar Yona, where police turned away anyone who arrived. One yeshiva head managed to set up a truck near the prison and blasted words of encouragement to the jailed students by megaphone. Police assessed that roughly 1,000 cars joined the demonstration. Some members of the public reacted angrily to the protesters, and a pregnant woman was reportedly hurt in a car accident linked to the convoy.

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf announced he would join the rally to strengthen the Torah students being held, and warned of further escalation. Speaking to the Haredi station Radio Kol Barama, he threatened that the day would come when protests spread across the entire country. Demonstrators carried mocking posters of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as they gathered in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood.

The conscription dispute has strained Israel’s governing coalition for months, pitting the Haredi parties against the demand that yeshiva students share the burden of military service. Haredi politicians pledged to keep protesting until the arrests of draft evaders are halted, framing the issue as an existential fight over Torah study. The standoff comes as the country weighs an election expected this fall.

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