(28 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bnei Brak, Israel - 27 June 2024
1. Various of Israeli police removing ultra-Orthodox protesters from street
2. Police taking handcuffed protester away
3. Various of protesters being detained
4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Ozer (second name not given), protester:
++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 3++
“We all came here for one goal, we reflect the position of all the Orthodox public. All the Orthodox public prefer to go to prison and not to the army. We came here to tell that. And we are stopping the traffic in order to tell everyone and to catch the attention, so that everyone knows the basic thing that the Orthodox will go to prison and not to the army.”
5. Close of protester, UPSOUND protesters chanting (Hebrew) “We won’t be drafted. To prison and not to the army!”
6. Pan of protesters, UPSOUND protesters chanting (Hebrew) “To prison and not to the army!”
STORYLINE:
Israeli police officers dispersed ultra-Orthodox Jews blocking a highway during a protest against army recruitment in Bnei Brak on Thursday.
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours to protest a Supreme Court decision ordering young religious men to enlist for military service.
Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their followers to skip military service and instead study in religious seminaries.
The ultra-Orthodox see their full-time religious study as their part in protecting the state. Many fear that greater contact with secular society through the military will distance adherents from strict observance of the faith.
This long-standing arrangement has bred widespread resentment among the broader public - a sentiment that has grown stronger during the eight-month war against Hamas. Over 600 soldiers have been killed in fighting, and tens of thousands of reservists have been activated, harming their careers, businesses and family lives.
The Supreme Court this week ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men, saying the system of exemptions is unequal. Ultra-Orthodox parties and their followers oppose any change in the system.
The decision could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The ultra-Orthodox make up roughly 13% of Israel’s population. But under the country’s fragmented political system, they wield significant political power and often serve as political kingmakers. The parties are key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition and could potentially force new elections if they decide to leave the government.
AP video shot by Ami Bentov
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