Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Security forces duel with ultra-Orthodox demonstrators on June 30 during a protest against conscription into the Israel Defense Forces when they attack the car of Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf.
CNN
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On Sunday, protests in Jerusalem against the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army escalated into violence. According to local police, demonstrators attacked both police officers and a minister’s car.
According to an Israeli police spokesman, rioters threw stones at police officers and the car of Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf as he returned to his house. Protesters also set fire to garbage cans and the road, blocking the highway.
Goldknopf’s spokesman confirmed to CNN that police safely evacuated him from the area minutes after the attack and that he was not injured.
Goldknopf is Minister of Housing and Construction and Chairman of the United Torah Judaism Party.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
During a protest against conscription in Jerusalem on June 30, 2024, clashes break out between ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators and police.
Social media videos showed protesters surrounding the minister’s car and banging on its windows. Other videos showed children and teenagers running around near burning garbage containers.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews have been protesting in the streets of Jerusalem since Israel’s Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday ordering the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military.
Since the founding of Israel, ultra-Orthodox Jews have been exempt from military service. The court also ruled that the government should no longer fund religious schools, called yeshivas, whose students do not participate in military service.
Although both men and women are subject to conscription in Israel, the ruling only applies to ultra-Orthodox men.
Police said they had to use force to disperse protesters after their request to leave the hall was ignored.
Five people were arrested, two for attacking police officers and three others for throwing stones or other objects, police said in a statement.
Some officers remained on site to direct traffic and prevent further unrest, police said.
“The police take seriously the attempts of these violent lawbreakers to injure Israeli police officers with stones, sticks, eggs and other things. There is no connection between a lawful protest and criminal and violent behavior of this kind – which can lead to injuries to bodies and property,” a police statement said.
“The behavior of those who disturb public order and break the law in the area deserves every criticism. The Israeli police will continue to take action against these violent troublemakers in order to maintain public order and the law,” it added.
