Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel hold protest in Jerusalem against military service

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Jerusalem on Thursday, calling for ultra-Orthodox Jews to remain exempt from Israel’s compulsory military service.

Local reports estimated that around 200,000 people, most of them men dressed in traditional black attire and hats, filled the streets of West Jerusalem, carrying signs opposing conscription. The large gathering brought traffic to a halt, with some protesters setting fire to tarpaulin sheets. Authorities deployed roughly 2,000 police personnel to manage the situation.

Police confirmed that one teenager lost his life during the otherwise peaceful protest after he fell from a nearby construction site.

Protest banners carried messages such as “The people are with the Torah” and “Closing the yeshiva — a death sentence for Judaism”.

The mass rally came amid a government push to enforce military service requirements more strictly, with thousands of draft notices recently issued to members of the ultra-Orthodox community and several individuals jailed for evading conscription, Al Jazeera reported.

A protester named Shmuel Orbach said that those who refuse military service are currently sent to military prison, adding that while the punishment itself is not severe, the policy runs counter to the very idea of a Jewish state. He argued that “fighting against Judaism in a Jewish country” is fundamentally contradictory.

The question of who must serve in the military — and who is exempt — has been a deeply divisive issue in Israeli society for decades. It has also become a major political challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly amid Israel’s ongoing two-year war in Gaza.

The exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews dates back to a policy introduced in 1948, when the community was much smaller. Under that arrangement, men who dedicate themselves full-time to studying sacred Jewish texts were effectively excused from military service.

Today, ultra-Orthodox Jews constitute around 14 per cent of Israel’s Jewish population, roughly 1.3 million people, and about 66,000 men of conscription age currently benefit from the exemption. Public frustration over this arrangement has intensified during Israel’s conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran since 2023, as the country’s military casualties have reached their highest levels in decades.

Last year, Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that ultra-Orthodox men must be subject to military conscription, ending decades of exemptions. The court stated that, without a specific law differentiating Jewish seminary students from other citizens, the country’s mandatory military service laws apply equally to all, including the ultra-Orthodox.

The decision has thrown Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition into turmoil. In July, the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) announced its withdrawal from the ruling right-wing alliance, a move that left Netanyahu with only a slim majority in the Knesset.

Since then, lawmakers have struggled to craft a new conscription bill that can satisfy both the ultra-Orthodox community — which demands continued exemptions — and the military, which has been calling for broader enlistment amid ongoing conflicts.

With national elections expected by late October 2026 and at least 11 new political parties already registered, Netanyahu once again faces growing challenges from opposition forces seeking to capitalise on his government’s instability.