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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police during a demonstration against universal conscription outside a military prison near Kfar Yona, Israel, on Wednesday. The demonstrators are demanding the release of imprisoned conscientious objectors. Photo: Ariel Schalit/AP/dpa
Keystone
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men have demonstrated in Israel against mandatory military service. According to media reports, there were also confrontations with police. Numerous demonstrators gathered outside a military prison near the town of Kfar Yona, northeast of the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. There, they protested the arrest of deeply religious conscientious objectors. Earlier that morning, demonstrators had already blocked a major road in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
In Israel, strictly religious men had long been exempt from mandatory military service. That exemption was set to expire in 2024, and the government has since failed in its attempts to extend it by law. In April, the Supreme Court in Jerusalem ordered the state to take concrete steps against conscientious objectors within a few weeks.
Since then, there have been several protests by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Many of them view military service as incompatible with their religious lifestyle, in part because men and women serve together. However, the Israeli army has recently issued repeated warnings about a severe shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
17.06.2026, 17:17
