Dozens detained in Israel as Jewish ultra-Orthodox protest military draft

Israeli police on Monday detained 46 ultra-Orthodox Jews after hundreds of men rallied across the country in protest of the arrest of four yeshiva (Jewish seminary) students who have evaded military conscription.

Their arrest prompted hundreds of young ultra-Orthodox to rally at central streets and road junctions in Israel, including in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Ashdod.

The protesters, who held signs in support of the yeshiva students, demanded their immediate release.

Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said 46 men were arrested after they set fire to dumpsters and blocked major roads throughout Israel.

The four students refused to report to duty and the military declared them "deserters."

The issue of military conscription of young ultra-Orthodox men has long been a contested issue in Israel.

Israeli law obliges all Israeli Jewish citizens to enlist into the military at the age of 18. However, ultra-Orthodox were traditionally exempted from service in order to allow them to pursue religious studies in yeshivas.

But last March, the Knesset (parliament) approved a new law that canceled those exemptions and put criminal sanctions, including incarceration, on draft dodgers.

The protesters are associated with a hard-line Lithuanian faction of the ultra-Orthodox community who rejects the new law and continues to boycott the military service. Endit