About 500 Charedi Orthodox men demonstrated in Jerusalem against the arrest of a yeshiva student who ignored a call-up notice for army service. The protesters, who also took to the streets in the predominately Charedi city of Bnei Brak, blocked intersections, set fire to trash bins and threw rocks and bottles at police on April 10.
The protest came less than a month after a similar demonstration over the arrest of another yeshiva student who failed to enlist, despite being called up, and about a month after hundreds of thousands of Charedim protested in Jerusalem against a new conscription law that would require Charedi Orthodox Jews to serve in the military.
Under the law, Charedi men would be criminally charged for evading the draft, but the penalties would not go into effect until 2017. In addition, draft orders for Charedi men up to age 26 will not go into effect until up to a year after the law is implemented.
