MK Boaz Bismut, chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, released the full text of his letter to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, criticizing the IDF for sending its letter on the temporary order freezing criminal proceedings against yeshiva students only after the committee had voted on the bill. Bismut notes that the IDF had the draft for three weeks and participated in all discussions, but could not present any case where an arrest of a Torah learner led to enlistment. The committee also accepted two exceptional IDF reservations after the deadline.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee chair MK Boaz Bismut released the full text of his letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, criticizing the timing of Zamir's letter regarding the temporary order freezing criminal proceedings against yeshiva students who evade military service. Bismut's letter, sent earlier Monday, questions why the IDF sent its letter only after the committee had completed its discussions and voted on the bill, despite having the draft for three weeks. He notes that the committee accepted two exceptional reservations from the Defense Ministry after the deadline, and that the IDF could not present any case where an arrest of a Torah learner led to enlistment.
The letter is part of the ongoing debate over the legislation, which would freeze arrests of Haredi yeshiva students until November 30, 2026, and has been approved for second and third readings. The Knesset legal adviser had earlier criticized the chief of staff for bypassing the committee by sending a letter to the media.
4 developments
- DevelopingYeshiva Student: Arrest-Freeze Bill Gives Me a Path to Volunteer for IDF
- DevelopingIDF personnel chief opposes bill freezing arrests of yeshiva draft evaders
- DevelopingBismuth: Legal advisors' opposition to yeshiva arrest freeze is political interference
- DevelopingIDF chief calls bill freezing Haredi enlistment 'inconceivable'
Source and signal
- Internal intake