Haredi draft crisis captivates Arab media: Refuge offered amid IDF manpower "shortage"

Arab media outlets have been paying close attention to the ongoing situation in Israel during the war, with a particular focus on the ultra-Orthodox protests against conscription into the IDF.

On Wednesday, these outlets reported that the protests were intensifying, widely circulating videos of violent clashes between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police near the Jerusalem IDF draft office. Al Jazeera highlighted what it described as a "severe manpower shortage in the Israeli army" and noted that a religious Jew had reportedly called the police "Nazis" during the confrontations.

The network explained that the clashes arose from conscription summons sent to ultra-Orthodox men, mentioning that several protests had taken place in recent weeks. However, it omitted the fact that the protesters largely belonged to extreme factions within the ultra-Orthodox community.

The report further claimed that despite thousands of conscription summons being issued, only a few dozen ultra-Orthodox men actually reported to the draft centers.

Similarly, the Lebanese network Al Mayadeen, affiliated with Hezbollah, underscored reports that just seven ultra-Orthodox men appeared at the draft offices on Wednesday. The network aired footage of the protests and confrontations, emphasizing chants like "To prison, not to the army" and "We will die before we enlist."

* Ynet contributed to this article.