Ultra-orthodox men clashed with protesters in Bnei Brak on Friday, as dozens of demonstrators blocked the main entrance to the Haredi-majority city demanding that yeshiva students be drafted to the military.

The initial protest, which blocked the so-called Coca-Cola Bridge on Route 4, was led by the “Mothers at the Front” organization, a group of women whose children are in the military or reserve duty.

Reservists also joined the protest.

The demonstration came in response to recent protests by ultra-Orthodox men opposing the arrest of those evading mandatory military service.

“Our children didn’t go out to defend a state that protects the right of Haredim to be draft-dodgers,” the movement’s founder, Ayelet Hashachar Saydof, told the Ynet news site.

“It’s unheard of, anywhere in the world, where instead of arresting draft dodgers, they are able to shut down the country,” she continued. “We came here to say: Enough.”

המפגינים חוסמים את הכביש וקוראים "אין זכויות בלי חובות". (ידיעות בני ברק pic.twitter.com/Kp1Zaqre1K — לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) June 26, 2026

המפגינים חוסמים את הכביש וקוראים "אין זכויות בלי חובות". (ידיעות בני ברק pic.twitter.com/Kp1Zaqre1K

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) June 26, 2026

Fridays demonstration caused traffic jams hours before Shabbat, and drew masses of locals to counterprotest, with some chanting the anti-draft slogan: “We will die and not enlist!” At one point, the ultra-Orthodox men scuffled with law enforcement.

The pro-draft demonstrators, meanwhile, chanted: “There are no rights without duties!”

Police struggled to break up confrontations........

© The Times of Israel