JERUSALEM — While U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to move the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalemhas dangerously fueled an international powder keg, another keg is burning in the heart of that city.
In an ongoing act of principled civil disobedience, the Ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem is standing strong in its resistance to serving in the Israeli army. Even as they are met with shocking police brutality, thousands of members of this community, known as the Hareidi community, chant and hold signs saying “we will not serve in your army.” Rabbi Hirsh in Jerusalem told me that the IDF is seen by the community as an army of occupation that wages needless wars and oppresses the Palestinian people.