Jerusalem braced for a significant turnout on Thursday as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis gathered to protest against proposed military conscription. This mass demonstration is poised to further exacerbate existing tensions within a nation already grappling with the aftermath of two years of conflict.
This powerful display of dissent emerges as the Israeli government seeks a delicate legal and political solution to abolish the long-standing military service exemption for the majority of ultra-Orthodox seminary students.
For decades, this exemption has fueled widespread public resentment, which intensified dramatically following the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023. This assault triggered ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, resulting in hundreds of soldier fatalities and multiple deployments for tens of thousands of reservists.
In Israel, military service is typically mandatory for most Jewish individuals at the age of 18, applying to both men and women.
Last year, Israel’s Supreme Court declared the military exemptions legally unfounded, stipulating that without new legislation, the military must begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
The military has publicly stated a need for an additional 12,000 soldiers. Currently, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men of eligible age remain outside of service.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political longevity has often depended on the backing of ultra-Orthodox parties. His government is now crafting legislation designed to partially meet the military’s manpower requirements while simultaneously preserving the stability of his right-wing, religiously conservative coalition.
Opponents of the proposed legislation argue that it would largely enable ultra-Orthodox Israelis to continue avoiding conscription, citing low enlistment quotas and lenient, delayed penalties for non-compliance.
The ultra-Orthodox community, or Haredim—meaning ‘those who tremble before God’—has grandly titled Thursday’s event a ‘march of the million,’ framing it more as a prayer vigil than a traditional protest.
The massive assembly is planned for Jerusalem’s western entrance, anticipating significant disruptions across the city and surrounding areas. A substantial portion of the primary Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was closed to all vehicles except buses transporting demonstrators, and the city’s main train station, located near the western entrance, was also slated for closure.
When modern Israel was founded in 1948, Haredi seminary students were initially exempted from military service. This decision was partly intended to help restore the tradition of Torah scholarship, which had been severely impacted by the Holocaust.
Back then, only a few hundred students were affected by this exemption. Today, however, the Haredi community constitutes at least 13 percent of Israel’s 10 million-strong population.