Anti-draft protest in Jerusalem by ultra-Orthodox, 8 arrested JERUSALEM, May 17 (UPI) -- Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem protested a proposal to remove their exemptions and draft them for the first time into military service. The protesters, estimated by various news sources as 15,000 to 30,000, gathered Thursday evening at a military recruiting office in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. The demonstration included stones thrown at police and garbage cans set afire. Eight were arrested, Ynetnews.com said. Ultra-Orthodox Israelis are exempt from military service while they study in religious schools, or yeshivas, and many pursue studies for most of their adult lives. Secular Israelis object to this exclusion, and plans to include the ultra-Orthodox in the military are being prepared, the BBC noted. The exemption was voided as unconstitutional last year by Israel's Supreme Court, which said it was unfair to other Israelis, the Los Angeles Times said. One police officer and five protesters were injured in the demonstration, Ynetnews said. The government wants to uproot (our traditions) and secularize us. They call it a melting pot but people cannot be melted," Rabbi David Zycherman told the crowd. The ultra-Orthodox, who currently comprise about 10 percent of Israel's population, have been exempt from military service since the nation's founding in 1948. In 2011 it was estimated about 37,000 men were studying in yeshivas, and therefore not in the army, the Los Angeles Times said.