Tens of thousands of Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Sunday in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration and the exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish males from military duty, in images reminiscent of last year’s major street rallies.
Protest organizations, including those that had spearheaded major rallies that shook Israel in 2023, organized the demonstration outside Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, demanding a new election to oust the government.
The demonstrators also demanded a more fair sharing of the burden of army duty applicable to Israeli Jews (men and women), except for ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been exempted from mandatory conscription since Israel’s founding.
The rally is said to be the largest since the conflict began, where tens of thousands gathered, according to Israel’s N12 News.
Israel’s war on the Palestinian-occupied territory has exacerbated a long-standing source of societal friction, which is now impacting Netanyahu’s coalition government.
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, the Israeli military has lost over 600 troops, the highest mortality rate in years.
With a March 31 deadline looming for the government to pass legislation to end a decades-long deadlock over the issue, Netanyahu submitted a last-minute motion with Israel’s Supreme Court last week requesting a 30-day delay.
In an apparent compromise, the Supreme Court allowed government officials until April 30 to present new arguments. Yet, in an interim finding, it also ordered a suspension of public funding for seminary students who would be eligible for conscription beginning Monday.
Protesters chanted “elections now” while waving blue and white Israeli flags.
At a news conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu expressed confidence that a solution would be reached, but he argued that having an election during the height of the war, when Israel was “on the verge of triumph,” would “paralyze the country” for several months.
In Tel Aviv, several families and supporters of the hostages currently held in Gaza blockaded a vital roadway to protest Netanyahu’s inability to return their loved ones.