Haredi teen killed during rally against IDF draft

A 14-year-old Haredi Israeli was killed and three others were lightly injured when they were hit by a bus during a protest against the Israel Defense Forces draft in Jerusalem on Tuesday, medical officials said.

Magen David Adom paramedics declared the teen dead on site, while evacuating the injured, aged 14-17, to the capital’s Hadassah’s Ein Kerem Hospital, according to a statement early on Wednesday.

The slain teen was named as Chaim Yosef Eisenthal, the son of Shmuel Eisenthal, a rabbi at the Ohel Torah‒Ponevezh yeshivah in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem, where his son also studied.

“I feel deep pain over the death of the dear yeshivah student, Yosef Eisenthal, of blessed memory, who was struck and killed yesterday during a protest in Jerusalem,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday morning.

“The circumstances of this tragic disaster will be fully investigated in order to learn all necessary insights and lessons,” the premier said.

Netanyahu urged “restraint to prevent the mood from becoming further inflamed, so that, God forbid, we do not have additional tragedies.” He added: “The value of the sanctity of life is engraved in our heritage, and we must safeguard it above all else.”

The Israel Police said an investigation had been launched into the incident, but ruled out the possibility of terrorism. “The bus driver was arrested and taken to the police station for further questioning,” the force stated.

The driver called the police’s 100 emergency hotline and reported that his bus was being attacked, according to a report by the Ynet website.

However, Channel 14 News said it reviewed video footage that appeared to show the Arab driver running a red light and speeding toward the crowd, dragging Eisenthal several hundred meters beneath his bus.

The Israel Police said that a small group of rioters disturbed the public order, including by blocking roads, damaging buses, setting trash bins on fire and attacking officers and journalists at the demonstration.

Security forces were deployed to Haredi areas in the northern part of the city “with the aim of enabling the right to protest while maintaining the security and safety of the public, participants and road users,” it said.

“A police officer on site used a loudspeaker to order rioters to disperse,” the statement stressed, adding: “When the calls were ignored and the disorder continued, police began efforts to push back the rioters and restore public order, using force and crowd-control measures.”

Tuesday night’s protest came as Israeli lawmakers continued to debate legislation that would regulate the military conscription of some Haredim.

For more than 70 years, a policy dating back to the nascent days of the Jewish state has allowed ultra-Orthodox yeshivah students to postpone their compulsory military service until they reach the age of exemption.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last year that following the expiry of an exemption law in 2023, the military must begin drafting Haredi men, and the IDF this year began initiating criminal proceedings against ultra-Orthodox draft candidates who fail to report for enlistment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox political partners, Shas and United Torah Judaism, exited the government in July over the issue, leaving the coalition without a clear Knesset majority.

Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday, “We are advancing a historic plan that will lead to the conscription of 23,000 Haredim over the next three and a half years,” hailing the proposal as a “genuine revolution.”

“Our bill establishes personal and institutional sanctions; I believe that they will not be necessary because the ultra-Orthodox population will meet the draft targets that we have set,” the prime minister declared.

Shas threatened earlier this week to oppose the 2026 state budget—a move that would bring down the government—if the Knesset fails to pass the bill regulating the ultra-Orthodox draft before March 31.

“From the perspective of the ultra-Orthodox public, the draft law is as far-reaching as one could possibly imagine,” Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told a local Haredi radio station, adding: “We will support the law, because it is the only thing that will save the world of Torah.”

In a separate interview with Kol Barama on Sunday, Shas Party MK Michael Malkieli insisted that his faction was fully coordinated with United Torah Judaism regarding the issue of the conscription law.

“People do not understand how complete the level of coordination is, both among the rabbinical leadership and the political leadership; the fight for every yeshivah student and for Haredi education,” he stated.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox generally consider national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the ensuing war have heightened demands by the general public that Haredim also contribute to the nation’s defense.

While most Israelis agree that Haredim should play a more prominent role in the defense of the Jewish state, some politicians have questioned the behavior and timing of the Supreme Court and the attorney general.

The number of Haredim studying in yeshivot who are deemed eligible for IDF service is estimated at between 63,000 and 66,000. Since Oct. 7, more than a thousand Haredi men have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number have volunteered for civilian national service.