Hareidim vs. Border Police
Hareidim vs. Border PoliceIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Hareidim may unleash a metaphorical "H-bomb" – a million-man demonstration – in response to the attempts to force hareidim to enlist into the IDF or alternative national service.

Likud's Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Kadima's MK Yohanan Plesner are expected to present a bill regulating enlistment of hareidim on Wednesday. The two have not yet reached common ground on the matters that are in dispute, and the content of the bill is therefore not yet known.

However, the eida hareidit stream within the hareidi world is not sitting still. According to different reports, its representatives have been meeting with senior members of Shas and several hassidic dynasties, with the purpose of uniting them in a huge demonstration, protesting what they see as an attempt to deal a mortal blow to the world of yeshivas and kollels.

Sources in the eida hareidit say that next Thursday – July 19, the eve of Rosh Hodesh Av – is their target date for the demonstration.

Senior sources within United Torah Judaism told Arutz Sheva that a decision has yet to be made. "We are waiting to see where the wind is blowing in the new law, and we will decide accordingly whether to turn to protests like this demonstration."