Giant traffic jams due to Haredi protests: congestion map and road closures
Haredim opposing IDF conscription have launched protests following the arrest of a draft dodger. Police have warned of significant traffic congestion from the Aluf Sadeh interchange to Em HaMoshavot and along the Jabotinsky axis in Bnei Brak.
Giant traffic jams have begun to form on Highway 4 due to protests by Haredim opposing conscription into the IDF. It was reported early this morning that the protest was triggered by the arrest of a draft dodger—the first such arrest in approximately three weeks. Police have announced preparations for heavy traffic congestion from the Aluf Sadeh interchange to Em HaMoshavot, as well as along the Jabotinsky axis in Bnei Brak.
According to MK Moshe Abutbul of the Shas party, the individual is a yeshiva student who was summoned to testify at the Lahav 433 unit regarding a fraud case. The MK claims that after the testimony, a police officer escorted the student to the parking lot and handed him over to the Military Police. However, police sources stated that the individual was a suspect summoned for questioning in connection with a separate case, and upon discovering he was a deserter, he was transferred to the Military Police. Officials noted that if he had been a crime victim appearing to testify, he would not have been transferred to the IDF.
It should be recalled that the coalition passed a law protecting draft dodgers from arrest until the elections, but it was later struck down by an interim order from the Supreme Court. Because the IDF lacks the necessary tools to carry out such arrests and receives no assistance from the police, and given that every arrest in a Haredi neighborhood draws crowds that attack military police, Haredi draft dodgers are rarely arrested in Israel.
