Haredi protesters chant 'Palestinian state better than Zionist state'
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Haredi demonstrators reject military conscription orders.
- Protesters chant against a “Zionist state.”
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) demonstrators blocked major roadways during an anti-conscription rally on Monday, August 17 delivering sharp rhetoric against military enlistment and the state.
The demonstration was organized following the recent arrest of a draft-evading yeshiva student. Protesters gathered along major traffic arteries, sitting directly on the pavement to halt vehicle flow and confront law enforcement officers.
Footage captured at the scene shows demonstrators shouting explicit anti-Zionist slogans as bystanders and observers watched.
"A State of Palestine is better than a Zionist state!" protesters shouted in Hebrew, as an onlooker noted, "Alright friends, they are shouting here: 'A Palestinian state is better than a Zionist state.'"
The confrontation highlights escalating friction within 'Israel' over universal military enlistment following court rulings striking down blanket exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.
During the sit-in, demonstrators reiterated their refusal to join the 'Israeli' military, repeatedly shouting:
"We will die rather than enlist!"
Haredim, who represent about 13% of 'Israel’s' population of 10 million, argue that military service threatens their religious identity and way of life because many devote themselves to Torah study.
Prominent rabbis have urged followers to reject the draft and “tear up enlistment orders.”
For decades, most ultra-Orthodox men avoided military service through repeated deferments for religious study until reaching the exemption age, currently set at 26.
