Clashes erupt in Jerusalem between police and ultra-orthodox Jews over military draft

Violent clashes broke out Sunday in Jerusalem between Israeli police and ultra-Orthodox Jews as thousands of Haredim protested attempts to draft them into the army, according to Israeli media.

Protesters attacked the car of Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, pelting it with stones and accusing him of complicity in the conscription of Haredim, the state-run Israel Broadcasting Authority and Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service.

The ruling seeks to overturn a longstanding practice under which Jewish seminary students are exempt from conscription.

The decision threatens to help destabilize the government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition reliant on religiously conservative parties, including Shas and United Torah Judaism, which oppose the move.

Haredim constitute around 13% of Israel's population of approximately 9.9 million and do not serve in the military, dedicating their lives to the study of the Torah, Judaism's holy book, to preserve the identity of the Israeli people.

Israeli law requires every Israeli citizen over 18 years old to serve in the military, and the exemption of Haredim from service has been a controversial issue for decades.