Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs has sent a letter to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth requesting an emergency order to halt criminal proceedings and arrests against Torah students. Fuchs warned that the arrests are driving Haredi society away from enlistment and risk reaching civil war, less than a week before the start of the Three Weeks mourning period.
Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs has formally requested that Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth advance emergency legislation to freeze criminal proceedings and arrests against Torah students, according to a letter obtained by Israeli media Saturday evening.
Fuchs warned that the current enforcement is counterproductive, driving Haredi society further from military service rather than encouraging enlistment. He cautioned that tensions risk escalating to civil war, noting that the request comes less than a week before the Three Weeks mourning period — a time of national introspection in the Jewish calendar.
The move follows a series of public statements by Prime Minister Netanyahu in recent days, in which he argued that arresting Torah students deters enlistment and suggested a temporary enforcement pause. Multiple background reports by The Zioneer in recent weeks have traced growing friction between the government and Haredi leadership over the draft, including calls from police officials to halt proactive arrests and from coalition lawmakers for a legislative solution.
The exact scope and timeline of Fuchs's proposed emergency order remain unspecified in the letter. The committee is expected to deliberate the issue in the coming days.
5 developments
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- 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
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