The Zioneer reports that the IDF acknowledged in a meeting with the Attorney General that it has not conducted proactive enforcement of draft orders in recent months, with only about 10 arrests carried out in cooperation with the police. The military and police attributed the decline to a focus on detaining deserters at border crossings and Ben Gurion Airport. The IDF stated that proactive arrests will resume in October.
The IDF has admitted to the Attorney General that proactive enforcement of draft orders has effectively been suspended, with only around ten arrests carried out jointly with police in recent months. The military and police explained the drop as a shift in focus to detaining deserters at border crossings and Ben Gurion Airport, rather than proactive operations. The IDF pledged to resume proactive arrests in October, without specifying the scope or method.
The admission comes amid a broader, long-running controversy over Haredi conscription. The Zioneer has previously reported on several developments in this arena: in June, the IDF's head of manpower warned that the number of draft dodgers was approaching 90,000, describing the situation as "extreme non-cooperation." A legislative proposal to freeze arrest proceedings for 90 days was floated, and the High Court of Justice froze a law that would have halted arrests of Haredi yeshiva students. Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs subsequently defended that law, arguing that arrests reduce enlistment. Last week, MK Yitzhak Goldknopf was quoted saying the government was arresting draft evaders "who have done no wrong."
The timing of the planned resumption and whether it will apply broadly or be limited are not yet clear. The acknowledgment of near-total enforcement suspension is likely to reignite political debate over conscription policy.
3 developments
- DevelopingSenior Israeli police officers urge halting proactive arrests of Haredi draft evaders
- StrongIDF Chief of Staff: Draft evaders arrest law harms legitimacy of serving public
- DevelopingIDF urges law enforcement to act decisively against 'this phenomenon'
- DevelopingHigh Court Issues Interim Order Blocking Law Exempting Draft Dodgers from Arrest
Source and signal
- Open-source intake