New York — NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews crowded the streets and sidewalks near the Israeli consulate in New York City on Sunday to protest issues including the possible end of the law. Exemption for religious students From compulsory service in the Israeli army.
The protest at the consulate, located one block from the United Nations campus in Manhattan, illustrates the complex relationship between Israel and large segments of ultra-religious Jews in New York and its suburbs.
Both influential and often rival chief rabbis from the Satmar community called on their followers to participate in the demonstration. The Central Rabbinical Conference of the United States and Canada, a union of Orthodox Jewish groups, said it helped organize the protest.
It comes after Israel Supreme Court last year The government was ordered to begin recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army. There has been a long-standing exemption from conscription – dating back to the founding of Israel in 1948.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are concerned about the impact of conscription Follower relationships To their faith. But many Jewish Israelis said the exemption was unfair. Divisions over this issue It has worsened since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
Rabbi Moshe Indig, a Satmar community leader, said he was not sure organizers expected so many people to attend, but said he felt an urgent need to address the issue.
He said he appreciated the governments of New York and the United States “for giving us freedom so that we can live freely and have our children go to school and study and learn Torah.”