JERUSALEM - JULY 23, 2025: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men staged sit-in protests in four Israeli cities on Wednesday, July 23, after Israeli police arrested three members of their community who dodged their military service, marking the first such arrests. Demonstrations unfolded in Ashkelon, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, and West Jerusalem, where protesters blocked major roads and sat in front of vehicles, disrupting traffic. Tensions briefly escalated as some drivers confronted the demonstrators. Chanting slogans against military conscription, the protesters denounced the arrests. While past protests have seen heavy-handed police responses, authorities refrained from intervening, though they later declared the gatherings illegal amid reports of bottles being thrown. Tensions over Haredi military service have surged since a June 25 ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court, which mandated the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men and barred financial aid to religious institutions whose students refuse to enlist. Haredi make up about 13% of Israel’s 10 million citizens. Many reject military service, arguing that their lives are dedicated to Torah study and that integration into secular society would compromise their religious identity. For decades, most Haredi men avoided conscription at age 18 by receiving repeated deferments for religious study until they reached the exemption age of 26. Several political parties in both the governing coalition and the opposition have criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for legislation that would exempt Haredim from military service, calling it discriminatory. These developments come as Israel continues its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 59,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. Writing by Aleyna Cil