Long exempt from military service, some ultra-Orthodox Jews are serving in Israel's army, while others are arrested for dodging the draft and many more block highways in protest.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community are protesting in streets and along highways. They're upset about arrests of young religious men who refuse to serve in the army. Itay Stern reports.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Praying in Hebrew).

ITAY STERN, BYLINE: Young men dressed in black suits and black hats fill a hot and dusty field outside a military prison in central Israel. They are praying and protesting the recent surge in arrest of fellow religious yeshiva students who have refused to enlist, says 20-year-old Haim Asika (ph).

HAIM ASIKA: (Speaking Hebrew).

STERN: "They took my friend. He just sits and studies Torah all day, and they put him in prison. That doesn't make any sense," he says.

Ultra-Orthodox men have long been spared from Israel's mandatory military service. They say they can't serve in the army and still maintain their religious observances. But the Supreme Court recently ruled those exemptions are illegal and give them an unfair privilege.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Shouting in non-English language).

STERN: Angry crowds like this one have been protesting for weeks against the enlistment orders and arrests. More than 50,000 ultrareligious men have received draft notices. These young men say they would rather die than give up their daily Torah studies.

The ultra-Orthodox, who make up around 15% of the population, are a key part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's base, and the recent arrests have put him in a political dilemma. On the one hand, he needs troops to fight the multiple wars Israel is engaged in, from Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, but he also can't anger his ultra-Orthodox government partners. Just last week, he spoke out against the detentions and called for a pause in the arrests. And he's backing bills now making their way through the Knesset to permanently exempt most of them.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Speaking Hebrew).

STERN: "If I told you that in Europe, police were entering religious schools, taking young men studying Torah and putting them in prison, you would be horrified, he said, hoping to sway public opinion."

But polls show more than 80% of Israelis support drafting ultra-Orthodox men, especially since current soldiers are serving longer and have been killed and injured in higher numbers than ever. Army officials warn of a looming shortage.

EFFIE DEFRIN: (Speaking Hebrew).

STERN: Effie Defrin, spokesman for the Israeli army, says the shortfall could be as high as 15,000 troops. But while enlisting thousands of ultra-Orthodox may boost manpower, it could also bring new challenges, says Yofi Tirosh, a law professor at Tel Aviv University.

YOFI TIROSH: The army promises the ultra-Orthodox soldiers that they will not see a woman throughout their entire military service.

STERN: Which she says is problematic, given that 20% of combat soldiers are women. She points to a recent operation that was scrapped after ultra-Orthodox troops refused to serve alongside female soldiers. And Tirosh says religious men must learn to respect military authority.

TIROSH: They might very well obey their rabbis and not their commanders.

STERN: Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox keep protesting, lately causing major traffic jams along some of Israel's busiest highways.

(SOUNDBITE OF HORN HONKING)

STERN: During this recent protest, a caravan of cars filled with young ultrareligious men blast music and throw candies into open car windows.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Vocalizing).

STERN: But for many drivers trapped in the gridlock, the gesture isn't winning any points. Some throw water bottles back at the religious men and speed off.

For NPR News, I'm Itay Stern in Tel Aviv.

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