Haredi convoys spark clashes, traffic chaos; most protesters fail to reach IDF prison

Ultra-Orthodox anti-conscription convoys set out from around the country to protest the detention of draft-evading yeshiva students, leading to scattered clashes and car accidents while causing widespread traffic across the country on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The protest convoys, Haredi lawmakers among them, turned around and headed home after four hours. Most of the demonstrators did not appear to reach their destination, the Neve Tzedek (Beit Lid) military prison in Kfar Yona, where police turned away anyone who showed up. Some local residents gathered at the town’s entrance in a bid to block demonstrators from entering the neighborhood around the jail.

While no violence was reported in Kfar Yona itself, the protest sparked anger among the non-Haredi public that saw several clashes with protesters, particularly among agitated motorists who were stuck in the traffic caused by the demonstration.

The head of a Haredi yeshiva nevertheless managed to set up a truck near the Beit Lid prison, from which he blasted messages of encouragement to incarcerated draft evaders through a megaphone.

Organizers of the rally claimed that approximately 10,000 vehicles departed from 19 gathering points around the country on their way to the Beit Lid facility, though police assessed that the number was 1,000. The Times of Israel was unable to independently verify the number of cars participating in the convoys.

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In one of the incidents caught on camera, counter-protesters appeared to clash with Haredi demonstrators in the southern city of Arad.

הפרגוד: צומת כפר יונה התושבים מתארגנים לחסימת הרכבים שיבואו.

קרדיט: חיליק. pic.twitter.com/FqMFnlgyIR

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) June 24, 2026

הפרגוד: מקריאים את רשימת האסירים ליד כלא 10 (אנשים לא באו לשם כ"כ) pic.twitter.com/MCCgxuV3uu

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) June 24, 2026

Police said that forces operating in the city “rushed to the scene” and were “working to restore public order and prevent further acts of violence.”

תיעוד: עימותים אלימים בהפגנות החרדים בערד; גורם בחסידות גור אומר לנו: "אם צריך נשלח כוחות משלנו להגן על עצמנו – התירו את דמנו"@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/ormPKtCsWU

— מרדכי הלפרין (@MHlpryn) June 24, 2026

Other encounters caught on camera showed a man running up to and shoving a protester, leading to a fistfight on the side of a highway, and a secular motorist tearing protest signs off a car and throwing them at the driver while yelling at him to enlist.

מדינת ישראל, מלחמת האזרחים שלך בדלת. pic.twitter.com/x8UJk9I4bH

— חרדים אקספרס (@haredimex) June 24, 2026

הפרגוד: חילוני קורע שלטים מאחד מרכבי המחאה "לך לצבא חתיכת זבל" pic.twitter.com/IWRQ9dpN7L

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) June 24, 2026

Footage also showed a police officer lifting his gun at a Haredi man before pushing him, as demonstrators blocked a tunnel that appeared to be near Jerusalem.

Hasidim blocking traffic in a tunnel (looks like near Jerusalem) and a cop raising his gun at a Haredi demonstrator pic.twitter.com/3Klzl96DK1

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) June 24, 2026

Similarly, a video from the convoy posted on X by a Kan reporter showed a motorist appearing to flash a gun at protesters as he passed.

שימו לב – נראה בתיעוד כמו אדם ששולף אקדח ומכוון על המפגינים pic.twitter.com/BfOcVu74zL

— דניאל גרובייס Daniel Grovais (@daniel_grovais) June 24, 2026

Organizers also claimed, without corroborating footage, that a truck driver attacked the car of a demonstrator who set out in a convoy from Bnei Brak with a knife and sticks.

“The attacker did not stop at threats; he began brutally striking the vehicle and smashing violently on the windows in front of the terrified passengers, who felt immediate danger but exercised restraint in accordance with instructions,” the statement added.

A spokesman for the protest told The Times of Israel that those involved “didn’t have time to document [the incident] clearly.”

In a separate incident, the Shlomei Emunim movement, a block within the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction of United Torah Judaism, claimed that Beitar Illit Deputy Mayor Gedalyahu Eisenstein “was severely and violently attacked during a protest convoy leaving Beitar Illit” when an angry member of the public “crashed into his vehicle and then began violently choking” him.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for Eisenstein told The Times of Israel that he underwent medical checks and is fine. “One of the people who was angry about the signs got out, blocked him, and tried to pull him out of the vehicle by force. He went for medical checks and afterward returned to participate in the protest,” the spokesman said.

In a video, Eisenstein stated that the assailant “blocked my car, forcibly took me out and started beating and strangling me. There were other people there who helped me and rescued me.”

In another incident, Pargod reported that a member of the Gur Hasidic sect participating in the protest convoy was injured in a crash near Safed in northern Israel.

Separately, organizers of the protest shared images of the smashed window of a participant’s car near Ashdod, claiming in a press release that “an incited and violent individual blocked and damaged a vehicle participating in a car convoy on Route 7, smashed the vehicle’s window, and even threatened to harm the passengers.” Organizers added that there was footage of the incident that would be handed over to the police.

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf, a major backer of the protest, was himself filmed driving slowly and holding up traffic while using emergency lights on his car, leading police to insist he stay in the proper lane.

Israel Police accused the demonstrators of failing to “comply with the agreements previously made with the protest organizers,” as several highways became clogged up by the convoys.

הפרגוד: מנחה בכביש 2, צומת עתלית pic.twitter.com/oyxqQnKuAN

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) June 24, 2026

In a statement, organizers of the protest claimed that they were “receiving reports from drivers regarding police attempts to infringe upon the right to protest, including the issuing of fines.”

“This is a severe attempt to violate a fundamental right in a democratic state, and we will not remain silent. The committee’s legal team will use every available avenue to fight this severe infringement on freedom of expression and protest,” the organizers said.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman was injured in a car accident with slow-driving members of the convoy, Channel 12 reported. In a statement, Magen David Adom said that it had received a report of a traffic accident on Route 1 near the Shaar Hagay Interchange,” adding, “MDA medics and paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating a 29-year-old woman in moderate condition with an abdominal injury to Shaare Zedek Medical Center.”

‘Resounding message’

Opposition leaders blasted the protests while they were ongoing, vowing to clamp down on draft evasion if they win the next election.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and chair of the Together party complained to Kan radio that he has been stuck in traffic for two and a half hours due to the “privileged draft dodgers.”

He said that if he wins the upcoming election, “everything will change,” and Haredi men who evade conscription and choose not to participate in the labor market will have their benefits cut.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid placed the blame for the demonstrations on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointing out in a post on X that they were organized by his coalition partners.

“Instead of telling them that anyone who does not enlist will not receive a single shekel from the state, while soldiers are being killed every day in Lebanon, he gives them more and more of the working and serving public’s money so that they won’t enlist in the IDF,” Lapid complained.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman asserted that the Shas and UTJ parties “are holding the Haredi public hostage” and are only out “for power, honor, and money,” while “the bill is paid again by those who serve, work, and pay taxes.”

Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot described the protest as “Netanyahu’s legacy” and pledged that “the next government will act according to the national interests of the State of Israel, and not according to the interests of Deri, Gafni, and Goldknopf.”

Organizers and supporting lawmakers praised the protest as a success and hailed the conduct of the demonstrators.

The protest, organizers said, sent a “resounding message: Enough! There is no path forward without the path of Torah! The Haredi public has ceased to remain silent in the face of the trampling of the Torah world and the imposition of sanctions, and will stand firmly for its rights.”

Members of an anti-conscription convoy set out from Jerusalem to the Neve Tzedek (Beit Lid) military prison in Kfar Yona pic.twitter.com/ox5ijbQnZo

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) June 24, 2026

They called for authorities to “immediately release” jailed draft evaders and “cancel all decrees” against yeshiva students.

In a video recorded from his car, Goldknopf claimed that the demonstrators acted “in an exemplary manner, responsibly, and without any violence.”

“It is a shame that there are those who chose to act violently toward the protest participants simply because they sought to exercise their democratic right to protest,” he said. “I expect the Israel Police to act decisively against those individuals and bring them to justice.”

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Tzachi Brim, one of the organizers of the protest, said that the Haredim “will not remain silent” when yeshiva students are arrested. “We have chosen a quiet and nonviolent protest, but with absolute determination: there is no path without the path of the Torah. Enough is enough!”

Bnei Brak Mayor Hanoch Zeibert told reporters that “anyone who is in pain goes out to the street to show that they are hurting.” Asked if he supported conscripting those not enrolled full-time in yeshiva, he replied: “First, exempt those who study, and then ask me questions about those who don’t study.”

United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush blamed Deputy Supreme Court Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and Police Commissioner Danny Levy for making “the Haredi public fair game.”

“We are following the reports regarding the assault on the protest participants with deep concern, and we call upon the police to act firmly against anybody who uses violence against the Haredi public,” Porush said.

The IDF has sent out tens of thousands of enlistment orders to ultra-Orthodox men over the past two years, after the blanket exemptions enjoyed by the community were revoked by the High Court in 2024. Most have ignored the draft notices and are thus classified as draft evaders, subject to arrest or other sanctions.

While the military has made no move to arrest all 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18-24 believed to be eligible for service, the detainment of even a small fraction has ignited anger.

In addition to issuing threats against the attorney general, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers have, in recent weeks, threatened a tax revolt; called on police to disobey orders; demanded local authorities halt cooperation with law enforcement; and announced that they would seek to dissolve the Knesset and trigger early elections.

Their rhetoric has trickled down through the communities they represent, where demonstrators, particularly those affiliated with the extremist Jerusalem Faction, have taken to the streets in an effort to block the arrests of military-aged men.

Some of these protests have turned violent, including one outside the central Israel city of Bnei Brak last week, where police used stun grenades and batons to disperse protesters who were blocking traffic.

Protesters have also, in recent weeks, tried to break into the home of Sohlberg, forced their way into a police compound in Beit Shemesh, and broken into the home of the Military Police chief while his family was inside.