A large group of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters succeeded in halting the arrest of a draft dodger in Maale Adumim near Jerusalem, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported on Sunday night.
After being reportedly alerted to the attempted arrest by the extremist Jerusalem Faction (Peleg Yerushalmi), dozens of protesters arrived at the scene of the arrest.
Military Police left the scene shortly after, prompting celebrations among the protesters, according to KAN.
לאחר שמערכת ההתרעה של הפלג הירושלמי “צבע שחור” קראה למנוע ניסיון מעצר של עריק חרדי במעלה אדומים, עשרות מפגינים הגיעו למקום – והמשטרה הצבאית עזבה | בתיעוד: המפגינים חוגגים במקום@daniel_grovais pic.twitter.com/ppGp34CRX6
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 28, 2026
Additional footage shared by KAN shows a police officer speaking with protesters, saying that “I didn’t even bring any patrol cars, I came alone.”
The protesters responded with praise for the gesture as the officer returned to his vehicle, according to the footage.
שוטר למנהל המפגינים החרדים: “תראה, לא הבאתי ניידת אחת, באתי לבד!”
המפגינים בתגובה: “כל הכבוד!”משטרה צבאית ניסתה לעצור עריק, עשרות מפגינים הניסו אותה מהמקום, וזו תגובת המשטרה שהגיעה למקום https://t.co/ssOhKEBl3k pic.twitter.com/P8F96j7pFp
— דניאל גרובייס Daniel Grovais (@daniel_grovais) June 28, 2026
Haredi protests erupt across Israel
The issue of draft dodger arrests has continued to grow in recent weeks, coming to a head with the massive haredi protests erupting across the country, their focal point being Military Prison 10 near Beit Lid, where arrested draft dodgers are imprisoned.
On Wednesday, thousands of hard-line haredi demonstrators blocked Highways 1 and 4 in mass nationwide anti-IDF draft protests. Heavy traffic was also reported on 28 other major roads, according to Maariv, and officers worked to remove the protesters.
The stated goal of the protest was to bring about the “immediate release of all detainees of the Torah world,” to halt arrests, and to revoke what they define as “decrees against Torah students and their families,” according to a statement released by the organizing committee.
Two days earlier, IDF soldiers and haredi protesters clashed outside of Military Prison 10.
Defense Ministry backs 90-freeze on haredi draft evader arrests
Against this backdrop, Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) on Sunday called to advance a proposal that would temporarily freeze the arrests of haredi draft evaders, as the Knesset advanced contentious legislation to enshrine Torah study in a Basic Law after the haredi parties had threatened to boycott coalition votes.
Katz had urged Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chair Boaz Bismuth (Likud) in a letter to convene an urgent meeting to discuss the proposal to freeze arrests of draft evaders, and Bismuth later released the outline in the afternoon.
Katz’s request to advance the proposal came after a letter from Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs outlining the government’s stance.
Fuchs argued that arresting yeshiva students who evade military service has undermined efforts to encourage broader enlistment among haredi men.
In Katz’s response, he stated that, following the letter sent by Fuchs at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s discretion, the temporary provision to freeze the arrest of draft evaders should include various sections, such as defining who is a yeshiva student, along with other conditions.
Keshet Neev contributed to this report.
