Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest military draft in Jerusalem

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men covered the entrance to Jerusalem in a sea of black Thursday to protest plans to draft them into the military, singing, clapping and holding signs saying they would rather go to jail

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men covered the entrance to Jerusalem in a sea of black Thursday to protest plans to draft them into the military, singing, clapping and holding signs saying they would rather go to jail.

The current draft exemption given to the ultra-Orthodox has caused deep divisions in Israeli society, emerging as the most serious threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The embattled leader relies on ultra-Orthodox parties to keep his government limping along, but their attempts to pass a law to permanently exempt ultra-Orthodox Israelis from military service could sink his government and spark early elections.

Israel shut down the major highway at the entrance to Jerusalem and deployed more than 2,000 officers, as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox, known as haredim, thronged the streets. One teenager died at the largely peaceful protest after falling from a building under construction next to the protest, police said.

The protest largely crippled the city, with roads closed and public transportation halted by the massive crowds.