Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest in Jerusalem against enlistment in military service

(1 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Jerusalem - 1 June 2026 1. Ultra-Orthodox Jews on road dancing and singing a prayer 2. Ultra-Orthodox men sitting in front of bus 3. Various of ultra-Orthodox men dancing in round and singing a prayer on road 4. Men sitting in front of car praying 5. Prayer book 6. Various of ultra-Orthodox Jews on road dancing and singing a prayer 7. Ultra-Orthodox men holding a sign reading (English) "We would rather die as Jews than live as Zionists" and "We refuse to serve an army for the sake of the Zionist religion" 8. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Israel Tropper, spokesperson of the protesters: "What is happening here is the result of one of the most idiotic decisions by the Chief of Police, to hand over yeshiva students for arrest on the charge of studying Torah, when we are talking about approximately 80-90 thousand yeshiva students. It is also a foolish decision because now the entire police force cannot deal with crime, not with criminal activity." 9. Youngster holding sign reading (English) "Our Holy Torah for which we sacrificed our lives throughout the millennia strictly forbids being drafted into the army of forced conversion." 10. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Israel Tropper, spokesperson of the protesters: "This public is determined, they see this as a war for their lives. From their perspective, going into the Israeli army means giving up religion, it's a melting pot there, we undergo a re-education, we don't want to give up our religion, so from our perspective it's a war for our lives, that's what we're fighting for and there's no way to implement a law that 80,000 people say no to, it won't work." 11. Wide of men with signs, protesters dancing in round on the street STORYLINE: Jewish ultra-Orthodox men blocked the entrance to Jerusalem on Monday as they protested against their enlistment for military service and the arrests of draft dodgers. Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their followers to skip military service and instead study in religious seminaries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained in power for most of the past 17 years due in part to a tight alliance with ultra-Orthodox religious parties. But that alliance is tearing apart his governing coalition and proving to be another major liability for the long-serving Israeli leader as the country heads to elections later this year. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack — and the inconclusive wars that have followed — are also weighing on him. After 2 1/2 years of active fighting in multiple countries, much of it involving reservists, many Israelis are tired of a longstanding system that has allowed ultra-Orthodox men to skip military service. That anger has spread to Netanyahu’s own base. The ultra-Orthodox are meanwhile furious at his failure to legalize their exemptions. They withdrew their support for the coalition, leading to an initial vote to dissolve parliament, known as the Knesset. Measures to draft the ultra-Orthodox have been met with staunch opposition and at times violence from religious protesters, who claim that serving in the military will destroy their way of life. Roughly 1.45 million ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 14% of Israel’s population and oppose enlistment because they believe studying full time in religious seminaries is their most important duty. AP video shot by Alon Bernstein =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...