Clashes have broken out between demonstrators and passersby as hundreds of thousands of haredim (ultra-Orthodox) convened in Jerusalem on Thursday to protest Israel’s proposed military conscription law for the ultra-Orthodox, dubbed the “Million Man March.”
The protests led to transportation disruptions throughout Jerusalem and surrounding areas, with thousands of officers deployed throughout the city.
A 15-year-old haredi boy died during the protest after falling from a height of about 100 meters at a construction site at the entrance to Jerusalem.
KAN reported clashes between protesters, officers, and others, sharing videos of physical altercations. A video of Inbar Twizer, a journalist from N12, showing protesters throwing items at her, was shared on social media.
Bottles, sticks, and gravel were thrown at the journalists and their crew, with protesters shouting “You are not Jews” and “non-believers” at them. Protesters also damaged equipment, tearing a camera cable, N12 reported.
Reporter Gilad Shalom and the camera crew from Channel 13 were also attacked by protesters attempting to keep them from covering the event.
At least one police officer was injured after being hit by a bus heading to the protest at the Motza Interchange on Highway 1, Israeli media reported. The bus was on its way to a demonstration in Jerusalem.
The officer was evacuated by MDA teams to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem with a head injury. The incident was reportedly investigated, noting that the driver was in reverse and did not notice the officer directing traffic.
Though clashes have been recorded, droves of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators have been gathering for largely peaceful prayer sessions, with videos showing thousands engaged in prayer without physical altercation.
Jerusalem’s Yitzchak Navon train station closed on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., Israel Police confirmed, as protesters planned to block the entrance to the city, leading to highway closures.
Highway 1 was closed to traffic in both directions, specifically from the Latrun area to Sakharov Gardens, including the entrance to Jerusalem via Highway 16 and the Shaar Hagai area, from noon.
In clear anticipation of blockades, scores of haredim traveled to Jerusalem ahead of protest time. Streets throughout the city were also blocked off, according to Israel Police.
After traffic jams were recorded near the entrance to the city, protesters walked there by foot from Highway 1.
A senior official at Israel Railways told Maariv that there was major concern about overcrowding at Navon Station, at the heart of the rally.
“Even with the reinforcement of trains, a maximum of 7,000 passengers can be transported per hour. A gathering of over 100,000 participants in the rally at its end could have ended in a major disaster due to the great crowding.
“We asked the police to provide security at the station, which would prevent spectators and regulate the passengers,” the senior official at the railway added.
“The police did not do this, and a disaster could have occurred, as happened in Meron due to the severe crowding.” Approximately 2,000 police officers and Border Police personnel were deployed through the protest.
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair MK Boaz Bismuth is expected to present the outline of the bill next week, leading tens of thousands of people to rally against haredi military conscription in what has been dubbed the “Million Man Rally,” which was scheduled from 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Thursday, per organizers.
Cry of the Torah, organizers of the rally, include the haredi parties United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas.
Both UTJ and Shas had resigned from the government in July following negotiations over army service requirements for the ultra-Orthodox.
At the time of their resignation, the bill was under development by former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairperson, Likud’s Yuli Edelstein, who later was removed from the post and replaced by Bismuth, who had been working on a new outline of the law.
Discussion of the bill would be moved to Monday
While the proposal was initially scheduled to be presented to the committee this Thursday, Bismuth’s office announced on Monday that the discussion would be moved to the following Monday at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The discussion will now take place next Monday, in order to allow the prime minister time to review the draft version of the law that has been submitted for his examination,” the statement said.
N12 reported on Tuesday that a leaked version of Bismuth’s outline showed significant changes to the bill, reverting to previous versions that failed to enforce haredi conscription into the IDF.
Key changes in the bill reportedly include the cancellation of the quota requirement for haredi combat soldiers, allowing the civil security service to count toward the quota of haredi recruits, and revising the definition of who qualifies as haredi, as per N12.
Keshet Neev, Moshe Cohen, Alon Hachmon, and Maya Cohen contributed to this report.