Teen dies during mass protest

A mass ultra-Orthodox Jewish rally against military conscription turned deadly in Jerusalem on Thursday, when a teen fell to his death during the demonstration which had shut down the main entrance to the city.

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Packed crowds of mostly men clogged the roads around the Route 1 highway leading into Jerusalem. Israeli media estimated that about 200,000 people flocked to the rally.

Photos showed some had climbed atop roofs of buildings, a gas station and onto cranes. The ambulance service said a 15-year-old fell to his death and police said they had opened an investigation into the incident.

The debate over mandatory military service, and those who are exempt from it, has long caused tensions within Israel’s deeply divided society and has placed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under increasing political strain over the past year.

Ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service. Many Israelis fume at what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve.