BICOM

An estimated thirty thousand ultra-Orthodox Jews took to the streets of Jerusalem last night in a mass protest against government plans to draft ultra-Orthodox students en masse.

Although the leaderships of the Shas and United Torah Judaism political parties and other mainstream ultra-Orthodox bodies did not formally endorse the demonstration, the gathering outside Jerusalem’s IDF draft office far exceeded the crowd of five thousand for which police had issued a permit to protest. Some sections of the crowd turned violent, in what Jerusalem police chief Yossi Pariente described as “a mass public disturbance.” Stones and other objects were thrown at security personnel with eight policemen injured. Ten protesters were arrested and crowd dispersal methods including water cannon were used.

Speaking at the event, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a leading ultra-Orthodox figure said “There can be no compromise here. We will stand as a wall against these decrees, so nothing can penetrate them… If we create even the smallest gap in this wall, then it will open the way for them to enter.”

Yesterday’s demonstration came as a ministerial committee headed by Science and Technology Minister and Yesh Atid MK Yaakov Peri prepares recommendations for a more equitable draft system. The reform of military enlistment was a major issue in January’s election campaign and a commitment to change the status quo formed part of the coalition agreement which saw Yesh Atid join the government. As a result, Peri’s committee is considering a plan under which just 1,800 ultra-Orthodox religious seminary students would be exempt from service with an estimated 6,200 required to enlist. It was suggested last week that the committee could recommend imprisonment rather than just financial sanctions for those who refuse to enlist. However, with cuts being made to the Defence Ministry budget, some have doubted whether funding will be available for a major upsurge in ultra-Orthodox recruitment.