JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clashed with Israeli police in central Jerusalem on Sunday during a protest against a Supreme Court order requiring them to register for military service.
Last week’s historic decision ordering the government to start recruiting ultra-Orthodox men could lead to the fall of the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahugoverning coalition as Israel wages war in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of men gathered in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood to protest the order, but after sunset the crowd moved toward the center of Jerusalem and turned violent.
Israeli police said protesters threw rocks and attacked the car of an ultra-Orthodox minister, pelting it with stones. Water cannons filled with skunk-scented water and mounted police were deployed to disperse the crowd. But the demonstration remained out of control late Sunday.
Military service is mandatory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have secured exemptions for their followers to skip military service and study in religious seminaries instead.
The longstanding arrangement has fueled public resentment, a sentiment that has intensified during the eight-month war against Hamas. More than 600 soldiers have been killed in combat and tens of thousands of reservists have been activated, upending careers, businesses and lives.
Ultra-Orthodox parties and their followers say forcing their men to serve in the military will destroy their generations-old way of life. Earlier Sunday, thousands of men gathered in a square and joined in mass prayers. Many held signs criticizing the government, saying that “not even one man” should be drafted.
The ultra-Orthodox parties are key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition and could force new elections if they decide to leave the government in protest.
Party leaders have not said whether they will leave the government. That could be risky, as Netanyahu’s coalition has been losing popularity since the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
