Israeli ultra-Orthodox protest draft detentions
Dec 9, 2013, 4:53 PM
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli police say more than a thousand people have protested in support of ultra-Orthodox Jews who were detained for failing to report for a mandatory draft assessment.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says Monday’s demonstration took place outside the jail where the men are being held. He said police broke up the protest when participants, mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews, threw stones at them. Other similar protests have taken place over the past week.
The military said the men are being detained for two weeks for refusing to report to a military recruitment center.
The protesters also demonstrated against a recently approved plan that would gradually halt automatic draft exemptions to ultra-Orthodox seminary students and require all to register for service. They say the military will expose their youth to secularism.
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