Riots broke out today outside the IDF recruitment center in Tel Hashomer, as Charedim staged loud and aggressive protests against the enlistment of yeshivaleit into the army. The protesters attempted to disrupt the recruitment of soldiers for the Chashmonaim Brigade — a unit specifically designed to accommodate charedi recruits who wish to uphold a Torah lifestyle while serving. Demonstrators blocked roads, shouted inflammatory slogans, and handed out anti-enlistment pamphlets. As young soldiers entered the base, the protesters screamed insults such as, “Don’t kill yourself,” “This is Gehinnom,” and even went so far as to call them “Nazis” and say that “Tziyonim are not Jews.” When Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot showed up to support the draftees, protestors shouted, “Sukkot is like [Yahya] Sinwar!” Police and Border Guard forces were deployed in large numbers to secure the area and maintain order as the situation escalated. The police reported that at one point protesters laid down in the streets to block traffic, forcing officers to physically remove them to allow vehicles to pass. One individual was arrested amid the chaos. Several main roads in the area were shut down, including Yaakov Dori Street in Kiryat Ono between Shaul HaMelech and Levi Eshkol, causing heavy backups along Route 461 from the Beit B’Park intersection all the way to Mesubim Junction. Motorists were urged to seek alternate routes. Meanwhile, inside the recruitment center, around 70 active-duty soldiers and an additional 110 reservists who had volunteered to transition into combat roles were processed for enlistment into the Chashmonaim Brigade. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)