'Rather die than be drafted': Thousands take to Jerusalem's streets in haredi anti-draft march

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters marched in Jerusalem on Tuesday in an anti-draft demonstration, welcoming haredi draft evaders released from military prison. The march, organized by the extremist Jerusalem Faction, featured signs with anti-IDF and anti-draft slogans. Politicians Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Liberman, and Naftali Bennett condemned the event, linking it to the upcoming elections and the ongoing dispute over the draft law.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox (haredi) protesters marched in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening in a large anti-draft demonstration, welcoming haredi draft evaders who had been released from military prison. The march took place in the Kikar HaShabbat area and along Shmuel HaNavi and Bar Ilan streets, disrupting traffic in the capital. According to KAN News, the event was organized by the extremist haredi Jerusalem Faction (Peleg Yerushalmi). Footage showed protesters holding signs with sharp anti-IDF and anti-draft slogans, including: 'With all your soul, we will die and will not enlist;' 'Release the hostages from Prison 10, who will never serve in the enemy's army;' and 'If I had to choose whether he would go to the army or die the way he died, I would prefer that he die.' Another sign read: 'We will not sacrifice our children at the altar of Zionism.' The march drew sharp criticism from several political figures. Yashar party head Gadi Eisenkot wrote on X that the upcoming elections are 'between a government of evasion and a Zionist government of the draft.' Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman condemned the 'welcoming parade for released draft evaders,' calling them 'Netanyahu's partners.' Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who had previously criticized a similar march in Bnei Brak, linked the event to the election campaign and the ongoing dispute over the draft law, arguing that haredi parties in government would allocate budgets to a non-enlisting population.