Thousands of ultra-Orthodox from the Eda Haredit sect gathered in Jerusalem's Shabbat Square Monday evening to protest against the government's efforts to devise a new universal recruitment law .
The demonstration was held just a few hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that should the coalition fail to agree on an alternative to the Tal Law ,as of August 1 all 18-year-old Israeli citizens would be drafted to the IDF.
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Netanyahu said that in case the government does not submit a new IDF draft bill, "On August 1 we'll go back to the Security Service Law, meaning recruitment for all at age 18."
(צילום אבי פרץ)
Video: Avi Peretz
The Tal Law, which effectively exempted yeshiva students from army service, expires next month in accordance with a High Court ruling.
Handcuffed kids during demonstration (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
The demonstration kicked off with a prayer session against the draft "decree." During the protest against the plan to draft yeshiva students to army or national service, children who attend Eda Haredit schools marched while handcuffed to each other.
'We won't surrender.' Haredi demonstration (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Some children waved signs reading "Save me" – a reference to the possibility that they will be drafted when they turn 18. Others yelled "Gevald!"
Another sign waved by protesters read, "We will never yield to the regime's decree."
Speaking from an improvised stage, a rabbi told the crowd, in Yiddish, "Even if they lock us up and beat us, we will remain Jews who observe the Torah and the mitzvahs.
The rabbi took advantage of the opportunity to criticize the attempts to obligate haredi educational institutions to teach the core subjects ,calling them "devoid of any content."
Activists from the campaign for the equal distribution of the burden issued a statement in which they condemned the "cynical use of children and the calls against fulfilling civil duties in the State of Israel.
"The very fact that you (ultra-Orthodox) live in Israel and receive protection from the state obligates you to fulfill civil duties," the activists said.
First published: 18:12, 07.16.12