The demonstrators were opposing mandatory military service for Haredi men, who were previously exempt Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters blocked traffic on a major highway near Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on Thursday, to oppose the conscription of Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Military service is mandatory for most Israeli citizens, with men and women required to serve 24 to 32 months. While Haredi Jews had been exempt from service since the founding of Israel in