Prime Minister Netanyahu said the arrests of Haredi draft evaders are hampering the effort to enlist ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF and that yeshiva students who do not actually study Torah should enlist. The remark, attributed to a closed-door political forum, reflects the coalition's ongoing internal debate over conscription policy.
Prime Minister Netanyahu stated in a closed political forum on Saturday evening that the ongoing arrest campaign against Haredi draft evaders is counterproductive to the broader effort to enlist ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF, according to a report by the Delek Yediot news desk. Netanyahu added that yeshiva students who do not genuinely study Torah should enlist — a formulation that seeks to differentiate between those engaged in long-term Torah study and those evading service without a learning commitment.
The remark enters a charged political moment. As The Zioneer has reported over the past several weeks, pressure from Haredi coalition parties — particularly United Torah Judaism — has led to initiatives to freeze or cancel the arrest policy via legislation. A bill to that effect was recently deemed legally unfeasible by unnamed legal sources (as covered June 24). Netanyahu convened coalition party leaders on Tuesday to gauge support for a law freezing arrests, and the Haredi yeshiva heads appealed directly to him on June 17 for a one-year moratorium.
The prime minister's framing — that arrests obstruct enlistment rather than compel it — echoes an argument advanced by Haredi lawmakers and rabbinical leaders but stands in tension with the IDF's position that enforcement is necessary to maintain the draft system's credibility. No legislative action was announced following the Saturday forum.
2 developments
- DevelopingNetanyahu advances initiative to freeze arrests of Haredi draft evaders
- DevelopingM.K. Porush urges PM to stop arresting Haredi draft evaders, citing lack of prison space
- StrongHaredi yeshiva heads warn coalition: arrest campaign is tearing the system apart
- DevelopingNetanyahu and Haredi parties agree: freeze on draft-evader arrests in exchange for commission of inquiry
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake