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Middle East conflict

Three police officers injured while dispersing anti-draft rally in Jerusalem

The rally in Jerusalem took place near a recruitment center

TEL AVIV, October 31. /TASS/. Three Israeli police officers suffered injuries as they were dispersing an unauthorized anti-draft protest of ultra-Orthodox Jews, the police said.

"As a result of public order violations, three police officers were injured and required medical attention," the police said in a statement.

The rally in Jerusalem took place near a recruitment center. It wasn’t authorized by the authorities and protesters engaged in scuffles with the police. The police earlier said they detained six protesters in the city for disturbing public order. Seven other protesters were detained in the Tel Aviv suburb of Kiryat Ono, and two more in Haifa.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews and the military

Israel's Supreme Court ruled unanimously in late June that ultra-Orthodox Jews should be drafted into the armed forces like everyone else. According to the justices, there is currently no legislation in Israel that would grant yeshiva students deferment from military service. In addition, the court prohibited the funding of yeshivas whose students refuse to enlist for military service.

Previously, ultra-Orthodox Jews were effectively exempted from draft. In wartime, this exemption sparked heated public debate, with opposition parties pushing for conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews. In February, this stance gained the support of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

According to the Times of Israel, there are currently about 67,000 Orthodox men eligible to be drafted into the military. Since the start of the military operation in the Gaza Strip, a small number of religious Jews have already voluntarily joined the armed forces.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 13.5% of Israel's population, or 1.28 million in a country of 9.45 million. After the start of Gaza hostilities, the Israel Defense Forces announced it would begin enlisting them into its ranks on a voluntary basis.

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