Hundreds of Brothers in Arms activists arrived on Sunday in the Mea She'arim neighborhood in Jerusalem to call on the ultra-Orthodox residents to draft the IDF alongside them.
Riots broke out between the activists and the neighborhood residents. Some residents threw eggs and objects at the activists.
The activists also hung up Pashkevilim within the neighborhood. A Pashkevil is a broadside or poster in a public location in an Orthodox community, usually a haredi community, that has information on current news.
This comes amid the ongoing controversies in the Knesset surrounding the Conscription Law and the public criticism surrounding the non-conscription of the ultra-Orthodox to the IDF.
Two arrested during riots
Two residents of the neighborhood were arrested during the riots. One was arrested for intentionally causing damage to a police motorcycle by knocking it to the ground. While the second burnt a flag of Israel.
Dror Erez, one of the leaders of the Brothers in Arms groups, addressed the audience in Yiddish, saying, “Tell your leaders enough is enough. We want [you] to be part of the Jewish people in the state of Israel.
We need you to join the army, and we can't carry you on our backs. We want equality in the burden of what was and will not be because this situation is impossible otherwise.
The Brothers in Arms movement said in a statement, " Come out, our brothers, and help your brothers who are carrying the burden.
For peace and security, the Jewish people in their country, and peace between us.”
The Chairman of the Religious Zionism party, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, slammed the Brothers in Arms movement for its actions in Mea She'arim.
"The provocation of Brothers in Arms marching in Mea Shearim [is] to create conflict and violence throws us straight back to October 6 as if we had learned nothing and did not go through the terrible massacre.
A “hate war” will not lead to recruiting one more soldier but to rift and destruction. The ultra-Orthodox public is integrated into defending state security through discourse and dialogue.”