Haredi protesters are blocking the Jerusalem light rail and clashing with civilians on Thursday evening, according to reports. Simultaneously, a Sephardic protest rally has begun outside the military prison, with Shas MKs Yitzhak Malchieli and Moshe Shariki in attendance.
Haredi protesters have blocked the Jerusalem light rail on Thursday evening, confronting civilians at the scene, according to reports. The demonstration is part of an ongoing wave of protests against the arrest of Haredi draft evaders and individuals involved in disturbances outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg. As The Zioneer reported on Sunday, similar protests have blocked the light rail previously. Separately, a Sephardic protest rally has convened outside the military prison, with Shas MKs Yitzhak Malchieli and Moshe Shariki participating. The demonstrations are taking place amid broader Haredi protests against military conscription and arrests of yeshiva students, which have seen highway blockades and train disruptions across central Israel in recent days. The full extent of the current blockade and any arrests by police remain unconfirmed at this hour.
The thread opened at 19:11 Jerusalem, when The Zioneer published initial reports of a light rail blockade by radical ultra-Orthodox protesters — a second such blockade within a week. Within the same minute, a version identified the protesters as Sephardic Haredim who accused Shas chairman Aryeh Deri of failing to prevent arrests of draft evaders. By 19:11, the first reports of clashes with civilians emerged, attributed to journalist Eli Hirshman. In a later version at 19:24 Jerusalem, The Zioneer added that a Sephardic rally had begun outside the military prison with Shas MKs in attendance, corroborating the separate protest front already noted as background.
As The Zioneer reported earlier this week, Haredi protesters have blocked highways and halted trains across central Israel on Wednesday evening, after the Knesset advanced a bill to draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. On Sunday, a similar light rail blockade occurred over arrests linked to the disturbance at Justice Sohlberg's home. Background bulletins also documented an attempted extradition of draft evaders to military police on Wednesday, a fire set near a light rail construction site on Monday, and a rally outside Prison 10 with Shas MKs — noted at 19:32 Jerusalem — which confirms the continuity of this protest front.
It remains unclear whether the current light rail blockade and the Sephardic rally are coordinated, and whether police have made any arrests. The precise number of participants at either location, and the duration of the disruption, have not been independently confirmed at this hour.
4 developments
- DevelopingUltra-Orthodox protesters block Jerusalem light rail over arrests of suspects in judge's home disturbance
- StrongHaredi protesters block highways, halt trains across central Israel
- DevelopingHaredi protesters try to block extradition of draft evaders to military police in Jerusalem
- StrongHaredim block Jerusalem road in protest over draft dodger arrest report
Source and signal
- Internal intake