Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked roads in Jerusalem on Sunday as Israel's Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case challenging a controversial system of exemptions from military service granted to the religious community. The court is looking at the legality of the exemptions, which have divided the country and threatened to collapse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
During Sunday’s arguments, government lawyers told the judges that forcing ultra-Orthodox men to enlist would “tear Israeli society apart.” The court suggested a target of enlisting 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men a year –- more than double the current levels but still less than 25% of their overall numbers. In Jerusalem, Israeli police cleared protesters from roads, and forcefully removed those who briefly blocked the city’s light rail. Demonstrators chanted “to prison and not to the army.