Holiday Ayo - Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in West Jerusalem on Thursday (October 30th) for a mass protest against military conscription.

For decades, Israel has implemented one of the strictest military conscriptions in the world. However, ultra-Orthodox Jews were exempt from it.

However, since Israel's brutal offensive against the Palestinian Gaza Strip in October 2023, Tel Aviv has lifted that requirement and now requires ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military, a sensitive issue that has placed increasing pressure on the Netanyahu government.

Israeli media estimated that a crowd of around 20,000 men dressed in the typical black attire of ultra-Orthodox Jews filled the main road leading to Jerusalem, causing a traffic jam.

The protesters demanded that Netanyahu rescind the amendment.

"Now, those who refuse to serve in the military will be thrown into military prison," said one of the protesters, Shmuel Orbach.

"It's not that bad. But we're a Jewish state. You can't fight Judaism in a Jewish state. It won't work," he added, as quoted by Reuters.

Ultra-Orthodox believers have long been exempt from military service. Many Israelis consider this unfair, as the burden of national defense falls solely on the non-Orthodox.

Public anger has grown over the past two years, amid Israel's brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has not only killed tens of thousands of Palestinians but also resulted in the highest number of casualties among the Israeli military in decades.

Furthermore, the need for military forces has increased as Israel expands its aggression from the Gaza Strip to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.