Tel Aviv, Feb. 15 -- A mob of Orthodox (Haredi) men chased two female Israel Defense Forces servicewomen through the streets of Bnei Brak on Sunday, overturning trash cans and a police vehicle before officers managed to extract the soldiers to safety. The incident, which was captured on video and widely circulated on social media, sparked fierce condemnation across Israel's political spectrum.

According to police, the two soldiers, who serve in the IDF's Education and Youth Corps, were in Bnei Brak as part of a welfare home visit to one of their soldiers. They were not military police, despite claims circulating online, the IDF said. Footage shows the women running alongside police officers as a crowd of men follows, shouting and blockin...