Women from the "Mothers on the Frontline" (Imahot Bahazit) movement blocked the "Coca-Cola Bridge" on Friday afternoon, causing severe traffic congestion and lengthy traffic jams throughout the area.
The bridge is the main entrance to Bnei Brak from Highway 4.
The protest quickly became a flashpoint as large numbers of local residents gathered opposite the demonstrators, with some chanting, "We would rather die than enlist."
Tensions escalated, and footage from the scene showed physical confrontations as demonstrators attempted to physically block haredi residents from passing through. At the same time, both sides exchanged songs and chants, with the protesters singing Hatikvah, the national anthem, while residents responded by singing the biblical verse (Isaiah 8:10), "Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand."
The disruptions extended beyond traffic delays. Near Sha'ar Hagai, unusually heavy congestion and the slow-moving protest convoys contributed to a chain collision in which a woman in advanced pregnancy was injured after her vehicle struck the car in front of it. Traffic police said that because of the extensive congestion, it took more than 25 minutes for an ambulance to reach the scene and evacuate the injured woman.
Responding to the events, Bnei Brak City Council member Yaakov Vider of the Likud Party sharply criticized the roadblocks.
"Blocking major traffic arteries is not 'protest'-it is criminal and anarchic behavior that repeatedly harms hundreds of thousands of innocent, law-abiding citizens," Vider said. "I opposed the lawlessness of extremist factions within haredi society, and I oppose the lawlessness of extremist factions in the broader public as well. It is time for law enforcement authorities to begin protecting the hundreds of thousands of citizens who suffer [from these disruptions] time and again."
