Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Jerusalem on Sunday for a demonstration against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and exemptions from military service granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews, in scenes reminiscent of mass protests last year.
Protest groups, including some who led the demonstrations that shook Israel in 2023, staged the demonstration outside the parliament, the Knesset, calling for new elections to replace the government.
Protesters also called for more equal participation in compulsory military service. Around 600 soldiers have been killed so far since the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war in Gaza, the highest number of military casualties in years.
Israeli newspaper N12 News said this appeared to be the largest demonstration since the war began. News sites Haaretz and Ynet said it attracted tens of thousands of people.
Netanyahu’s office faced widespread criticism over security failures at the time of the Hamas attack in southern Israel, when 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage and taken to Gaza.
“This government is a complete and utter failure,” said Nurit Robinson, 74. “They will take us into the abyss.”
Israel’s war in the Palestinian enclave has worsened a long-standing source of friction in society that also plagues Netanyahu’s coalition government: exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from military service in the country.
With a March 31 deadline looming for the government to introduce legislation to resolve a decades-long impasse on the issue, Netanyahu filed a last-minute request with the Supreme Court last week seeking a 30-day delay.
In an apparent accommodation, the Supreme Court has given the government until April 30 to submit a fresh proposal on the issue. But with a provisional ruling he also ordered the suspension of state funding for seminary students who will be subject to compulsory conscription from Monday.
Source: Terra
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