00:00It was dubbed the Million Man March, and in the end, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox
00:05men flooded into the streets of Jerusalem with the familiar refrain.
00:10Every man needs to go to the army when he's 18 years old.
00:13But who used to learn, was learning in the yeshiva, learning Torah, they led him to learn
00:19he shouldn't have to go to the army.
00:20The protest was largely peaceful, but a 15-year-old boy died after falling accidentally from a
00:26construction site at the city's entrance.
00:28After more than two years of war in Gaza, along with Israeli attacks in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon,
00:34more than 900 Israeli soldiers have died, a burden not shared by the ultra-Orthodox, which
00:40make up 14 percent of the population.
00:43Military conscription is mandatory for most citizens in Israel, but historically not for
00:48the ultra-Orthodox.
00:50Last year, the country's Supreme Court ordered an end to that exemption, and the military
00:54began issuing draft notices.
00:55About 80,000 went out, but only 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men complied.
01:01Right now, people who refuse to go to the army, they take them to military prison.
01:07It's not so bad, but it's not.
01:10We're a Jewish country.
01:11You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish country.
01:14It doesn't work.
01:15But the vast majority of the Israeli public does not agree, and many reservists have
01:20grown angry.
01:21An opinion poll taken last year showed more than three-quarters of Israelis were against
01:25exempting the ultra-Orthodox from serving in the military.
01:29Thursday's protest came as Israeli lawmakers are expected to discuss a new draft bill on
01:34Monday.
01:34The contents of that bill have not been made public.
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