An unlawful protest is blocking Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, Israel Police said on Monday afternoon.
The protest is reportedly being led by Peleg Yerushalmi, a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) movement that regularly protests the IDF draft.
Police closed Highway 4 from the Aluf Sade interchange to the Em Moshavot interchange in both directions, directing southbound traffic via Petah Tikva.
Lapid denounces protests, calls on immediate draft for all, cutting off haredi funding
Opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the protest in a post on his official X/Twitter, commenting that "923 have fallen in the past two years to protect a group of draft evaders who block roads and shout 'the army is worse than death.'"
"There is only one possible answer: stop transferring them money and draft everyone, immediately!" he added.
On Thursday, the same group held a protest in Ashkelon, leading to police arresting at least eight.
In August, it called on individuals who received IDF draft notices and did not report for enlistment to attend a protest, where participants will have the opportunity to enter a raffle with a prize of up to NIS 15,000.
Who is the Peleg Yerushalmi faction?
The Peleg Yerushalmi faction follows a more conservative ideology than the mainstream Lithuanian Haredi community, though it is less extreme than groups such as Neturei Karta. A key point of dispute is the faction’s directive for yeshiva members not to report to the IDF recruitment bureau to obtain “his art and teaching” status, which exempts them from military service.
As a result, many faction members are considered to be evading recruitment, and from time to time, some are arrested. The faction holds demonstrations whenever someone who does not show up is arrested and has even established dedicated support organizations for these young men.
Regarding student entry into the labor market, the faction takes a conservative stance relative to the mainstream, and its male members are less likely to participate.
Although in the pre-split Lithuanian world, it was customary to receive government budgets for educational institutions, some of the faction’s educational institutions oppose receiving State funding for fear of government intervention in the curriculum.
Peggy Cidor and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.