Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs is urging a freeze on arrests of yeshiva students, contingent on proof that they are bona fide students under effective supervision, according to political reporter Ari Kalman. A key legal demand is attaching a biometric monitoring mechanism — via fingerprint — a clause that has previously led Haredi factions to oppose the conscription bill. It remains unclear whether rabbinical leadership will now permit such monitoring inside yeshivas.
Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs is now pressing for a freeze on arrests of yeshiva students that would be conditional on a biometric fingerprint-monitoring system to verify that those exempted from service are genuinely studying, political reporter Ari Kalman reports Saturday evening. This new demand comes after Fuchs earlier Saturday evening warned that the arrests could lead to civil war and circulated a cabinet letter backing the freeze bill—reported by The Zioneer at 21:25 Jerusalem—though that initial letter did not specify the fingerprint condition.
Kalman's update builds on a thread The Zioneer has tracked since 21:25 Jerusalem Saturday: Fuchs first sent a letter to Knesset committee chairman Boaz Bismuth requesting emergency legislation to halt criminal proceedings and arrests of Torah students, warning of civil war. Minutes later, Fuchs circulated a cabinet letter of support as pressure mounted on Defense Minister Israel Katz (Daphna Liel, N12). The fingerprint-monitoring clause now added has historically divided coalition partners—Haredi opposition to biometric tracking was a key reason the broader conscription bill failed, as The Zioneer reported earlier.
Attributed background from the thread: The arrest-freeze push has accelerated in recent days, with Prime Minister Netanyahu advancing an initiative Monday (Ari Kalman), Haredi yeshiva heads calling for a one-year freeze Wednesday (Amit Segal, N12), and hundreds of Mir yeshiva students receiving legal guidance on how to handle possible military arrest Tuesday (Channel 14).
What remains open: whether senior Haredi rabbinical authorities will permit biometric monitoring inside yeshivas this time—a question pre-existing the current proposal—and whether Defense Minister Katz will issue his own letter of support, as pressure on him continues.
5 developments
- DevelopingGovernment secretary warns that yeshiva student arrests could lead to civil war
- DevelopingNewspaper editorial urges freeze on yeshiva student arrests until after elections
- DevelopingReport: Deri pushing a 'thin' draft law to halt yeshiva student arrests
- DevelopingPM's office: coalition has the votes for Deri's bill to stop draft-evader arrests
Source and signal
- Internal intake