JERUSALEM -- Many Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are weary of the government's plans to integrate them into the army and the workforce and some warn that big protests are coming ahead if they feel their way of life is under attack.

Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews took to street last week to protest against government's plans to enlist male members of their community in the army, which they feel will deeply affect their way of life.

With the haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) up in arms against the proposed draft law that would see an increase in the number of male members in this community joining the army, many see a wave of protests like last week's coming ahead.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition, which does not include any haredi party, has focused on putting an end to what many in Israel see has "haredi privileges," which include draft exemptions on religious grounds and government welfare.

"If the government continues with these policies, the draft law and the recent budget cuts, we will see more protests taking place, " Jonathan Rosenblum, columnist in the Ultra-Orthodox leading newspaper Mishpaha (Family), told Xinhua.

"The haredi community is big and diverse, if the government pushes too hard, it's going to push also more open trends within the community, those who seek to integrate into the army and the workforce," Rosemblum said.

Thursday's protest saw 20,000 Ultra-Orthodox demonstrating near Jerusalem's drafting center, with violent outbursts of the most radical factions.

"I was at the protest, and those who began to riot do not represent all the Ultra-Orthodox community, just because some extremists decide to make some noisy," Eli Linker, a teacher at a Jerusalem Yeshiva, a Talmudic school, told Xinhua.

"(But) I think we are going to see more of these protests, because if the haredi world decides it's time for a fight, huge crowds will gather in different demonstration, every man, woman and child will take to the streets, but it will be done in a peaceful way," Linker said.

Many in the Ultra-Orthodox community see the government's new taxation and draft policies as a direct attack against their way of life, and believe that the government is now run by secular leaders who seek to put an end to their traditions and beliefs.

"The government is mostly secular, with a religious party ( Jewish Home), but they are the kind of religious that compromise and are trying to be accepted by the secular world," Linker said, "so the result is that they are trying to force us into these changes without considering our unique way of life."

Some leaders in the haredi world are feeding the community's anxiety arguing that the government will jail anyone who attends a yeshiva without the mandatory military service.

"When they talk about putting yeshiva students in jail if they don't go to the army and the budget cuts, it seems that their goal is not their integration, but rather the destruction of this community," Rosemblum said.

Last week protest saw some community leaders rallying demonstrators against what they claimed governmental efforts to bring down their traditions.

"The government wants to uproot (our traditions) and secularize us, they call it a melting pot, but people cannot be melted. You cannot change our (way of life)," Rabbi David Zycherman told the crowd.

Others in the haredi sphere have a less bleak outlook regarding the changes coming ahead.

"I really don't think there will be a problem, I think what's happening is that the new draft law is not going to be forced conscription, the army will take into account that the community is complex," Rabbi Moshe Weiss, principal at a High School Yeshiva in Jerusalem told Xinhua.

"There are many of us who want to study, serve in the army and join the workforce," he said, "not all the community is studying in the Yeshivot, and not all the community thinks these changes are counterproductive."

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 10 percent of Israel's 8 million citizens, with around 60 percent of the haredi men studying in Yeshivot full time and not engaging in the workforce. Many haredi families rely heavily on state subsidies and welfare to support themselves, while in some families, it is the wife who works full time and serves at home while the husband continues his religious studies.

Last week the government approved a controversial budget draft that will hike taxes and slash budget in education and social benefits, a measure that will affect many Ultra-Orthodox families.