Draft Evaders

'To Uman, not the military': Haredim protest at airport

Breslov hassidim protested at Ben Gurion Airport, demanding draft evaders be allowed to fly to Uman as fears of arrests before Rosh Hashanah grow.

No boarding: Israel cracks down on Uman-bound draft evaders

Israel blocks key loophole allowing haredi draft evaders under exit bans to board flights, new system expected to take effect ahead of Jewish New Year.

High Court freezes law barring arrest of draft dodgers

The High Court of Justice issued an interim order suspending the implementation of the law freezing the arrest of draft dodgers.

Shas Torah Sages

'It is forbidden to draft yeshiva students'

As the High Court hears a petition on the law on the arrests of draft dodgers, the Shas Council of Torah Scholars ruled that the recruitment of Torah students is prohibited according to Halakha.

Watch:

Haredi mob assaults IDF reservist

About 200 Gerrer hasidim demonstrated outside the home of AG Gali Baharav-Miara. An IDF reservist was injured after being assaulted by rioters.

The haredi counter-identity

There are Torah-true teachings that haredi ideology has ignored and subordinated to the preservation of haredi separateness. Opinion.

IDF Spokesman: Attacks on Chief of Staff harm the entire military

IDF Spokesman Effie Defrin defended the Chief of Staff's warning on haredi draft legislation, saying political attacks undermine the entire military.

During rush hour

Haredi protesters block Route 4

Haredi extremists are blocking Route 4 at the Geha and Givat Shmuel interchanges near Bnei Brak to protest the arrests of draft dodgers.

Deputy Minister Haskel leaves government

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel resigned after opposing legislation blocking arrests of haredi draft dodgers, citing harm to soldiers.

Above the law

Knesset passes law to halt arrests of haredi draft dodgers

The Knesset approved a bill preventing arrests of haredi draft dodgers, with coalition support and opposition petitions filed against the move.

Gur hasid arrested as concerns of mass protests grow

Gur hasid Moshe Reuven Verdiger arrested while awaiting official approval of military exemption request, plans for possible protests not yet known.

Report:

Haredi draft dodger denied tefillin for 3 days in jail

Detention facility staff refused to accept the pair of tefillin that a detainee's family brought for him after it was instructed to do so by the military.

Mistaken identity:

Police chase, cuff and injure haredi man

Plainclothes officers chase, cuff and injure a haredi man in Ashdod before discovering he was not the suspect they were searching for.

Watch:

Violent clashes between haredim and soldiers at IDF prison

Soldiers guarding the Military Prison 10 complex clash with haredi rioters who infiltrated the facility.

Text of law to curb arrest of haredi draft evaders disclosed

Ahead of the second and third readings, the temporary order was published, suspending arrests and enforcement for a limited period, subject to study requirements, affidavits, and supervision of yeshivas.

Outside AG's office

Hundreds of hassidim set up protest study hall

Viznitz hassidim gathered outside the Attorney General's office to protest the arrests of haredi draft dodgers.

Baharav-Miara's next steps against haredi draft-evaders

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara demands Supreme Court ban afternoon program subsidies for haredi children whose fathers did not enlist in the IDF.

Goldknopf slams Cabinet Secretary over haredi draft remarks

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs defended a proposed draft order but drew sharp criticism from UTJ after accusing haredi parties of ignoring absentee yeshiva students.

Legal review:

Knesset can not suspend enforcement against draft dodgers

A Knesset legal review warned that a bill halting enforcement against haredi draft evaders could harm equality and military service.

Massive anti-enlistment protest planned for Bnei Brak

Thousands of Sephardic haredim expected to attend mass rally in Bnei Brak, protesting arrests, imprisonment, and prison conditions for yeshiva students arrested for draft evasion.

Goldknopf's statements that infuriated Knesset members

UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf sparked outrage by claiming the 'draft dodgers' are in Tel Aviv while defending Torah study in Israel.

Protest convoys reveal schism in haredi community

As hundreds of vehicles prepare for a nationwide protest, cooperation between major Hasidic groups and the Jerusalemite Faction has exposed the fault lines against Shas and Degel HaTorah.

Ben-Gvir unfiltered in the Arutz Sheva studio

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir takes on a rapid round of questions from Arutz Sheva with immediate and unfiltered answers on topics like the elections, the Gaza flotilla, and the death penalty law.

No arrests of deserters on election day

The chairman of the Central Elections Committee said, following discussions with the Attorney General and the police commissioner, that on Election Day there will be no enforcement operations against deserters.

Haredi deserter sparks waves of protest at release party

After six days in military detention, Yechiel Kotiner was released last night. He had caused significant controversy when he was arrested at a draft office.

Bereaved father responds to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef: This is Torah?

Bereaved father Hagay Lober publishes a sharply worded response to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who claimed that the change in President Trump's attitude toward Israel is the result of the arrests of haredi draft evaders.

46 haredi draft dodgers were held in custody on Shabbat

Haredi journalists report an increase in the number of arrests following tougher enforcement against those who failed to report to draft offices.

Police officer filmed kicking haredi protester suspended

Following disturbing footage from the Jerusalem Faction protest, the Tel Aviv District commander decided to immediately suspend the officer who was filmed kicking a protester.

Footage of police violence

Police throw smoke grenades, beat protesters with batons

New footage of police violence on Route 4 near Bnei Brak: After smoke grenades were thrown, officers are seen running toward protesters and striking them forcefully with batons.

'I'm Proud':

Three of Deri's grandsons listed as draft dodgers

Deri's grandsons are among tens of thousands of Haredi youths who have had arrest warrants issued against them for failing to report for service.

Amid arrests of draft dodgers

Gur Hasidim & Jerusalem Faction announce series of protests

Thousands of hasidim will demonstrate tomorrow in front of the gates of the military prison following the arrest of a hasidic draft dodger.

Haredi parties encourage

The next stage of the anti-draft protests begins

Senior officials in the haredi parties have approved a plan for a mass protest action in which convoys of vehicles from across the country will travel toward the military prison.

Provocative signs welcome drivers to Israeli cities

Haredi extremists hang anti-police signs at entrance to Jerusalem, Ashdod, and Modiin Illit, as tensions between the haredi community and the police continue amid arrests of draft dodgers.

Hundreds arrive to protest - and discover mistake

Investigation underway after hundreds of haredim arrive at police checkpoint to protest arrest and disturb public order, due to error.

Haredi protesters paralyze trains and roads

Haredi protesters blocked the railway tracks near Tel Aviv’s HaHagana station and major traffic routes in central Israel.

Rabbi Lando in Chicago:

Israel is persecuting Torah students

Addressing a Chicago fundraiser, Rabbi Dov Lando said yeshiva students face persecution and growing economic hardship in Israel.

Ahead detainee transfer

Haredi extremists protest across the country

Protests were held outside prisons and along major roads after authorities announced plans to transfer 19 detained haredi yeshiva students to the IDF.

Haredi MKs spark firestorm with visit to draft dodgers

MKs Aryeh Deri and Yitzhak Goldknopf visited detained haredim who refused to enlist. Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the visit, calling it a disgrace and lack of awareness to the public.

Watch

Haredi extremists riot outside Justice Sohlberg’s home

Haredi protesters rioted outside the home of Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Justice Noam Solberg, and smashed windows. Netanyahu: “Bring the rioters to justice."

Haredi rabbi answers:

What blessing do you say when you're arrested?

Rabbi Moshe Brandsdorfer issued a halachic ruling addressing how yeshiva students should respond when arrested over enlistment.

Could haredi consumers cost Israel's biggest firms millions?

UTJ is examining targeted consumer boycotts of major companies, aiming to leverage haredi purchasing power as economic pressure.

“Final Ultimatum": MK Meir Porush's Threat

MK Meir Porush declared: “If these arrests are not stopped immediately, if you do not cease this persecution, we will leave you with no foothold in our communities."

Protesting draft-dodger arrests

Haredi demonstrators block major roads

Extremist demonstrators are protesting against the arrest of draft-evaders and are blocking the entrance and exit to Jerusalem and Highway 1.

Riots in Beit Shemesh:

Haredim attempt to storm police station over draft arrest

Violent unrest in Beit Shemesh: Dozens of haredi protesters attempt to breach a police station following the arrest of a young man suspected of evading military service.

Gafi orders Degel HaTorah to stop cooperating with police

Degel HaTorah Chairman orders the party's representatives in municipalities to immediately cease all cooperation with the Israel Police over arrests of draft dodgers.

Benefits for draft dodgers

Smotrich refuses to support bill - haredim infuriated

Haredi lawmakers lashed out at the Religious Zionist Party after it refused to support daycare subsidies tied to draft exemptions.

Following arrests:

War between haredim and IDF escalates

Police handed over three draft dodgers to the Military Police overnight. At the same time, protesters gathered outside the home of the security NCO for a prison holding detained evaders.

Police commissioner orders officers to detain draft dodgers

A new police directive orders officers to detain draft dodgers until Military Police arrive, drawing fierce criticism from Shas.

'Imprisoned Torah scholar' spotted vacationing in Thailand

A photo circulated on social media of a young man who was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport a year ago and whose arrest prompted protests calling for his release, shows him vacationing in Thailand.

MPs retreat after trying to arrest Yeshiva student

Military Police forces left empty-handed in Dimona without carrying out the arrest after a protest broke out.

Haredi draft crisis: Porush calls for US pressure on Israel

MK Meir Porush urges the Trump administration to pressure Israel to stop arrests of haredi draft evaders, claims that, in contrast to the US, Israel acts 'in ways of persecution against yeshiva students.'

Draft saga:

Attempt to arrest haredi draft dodger in Dimona fails

The Military Police attempted to arrest a Gerrer yeshiva student in Dimona after he was declared a draft evader. Forces arrived at his home, but he did not open the door.

Troops punished after missing memorial because of haredi protest

Three soldiers disciplined after arriving late to a memorial due to roadblocks from a haredi protest, sparking criticism from families.

Extremist haredi rioters block entrance to Jerusalem

Jerusalem Faction demonstrators block entrance to Jerusalem to protest arrest of draft dodger. Police working to disperse them using water cannon.

Protests, roadblocks, clashes following arrest of draft evaders

Hundreds of Jerusalem Faction activists block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak in protest against the renewed arrests of draft evaders from military service.

Man arriving with wife's coffin arrested for draft evasion

Yosef Haim Shriki, whose wife passed away on Passover, is detained upon arrival in Israel on suspicion of draft evasion.

Protests to reignite?

Haredi yeshiva student arrested in Be'er Sheva

Daniel Pinto, a 28-year-old haredi yeshiva student from Be'er Sheva, was arrested, brought before an officer at Military Prison 10, and was sentenced to three days' detention.

Will protests restart after draft-evader arrest?

Ariel Koren, student at the Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva in Tel Aviv, arrested for draft-evasion.

IDF apologizes to haredi draft dodger: "An exceptional case"

The IDF issued an apology to a haredi draft dodger who was arrested and prevented from wearing tefillin for several hours.

After arrest of draft dodgers

Haredi protesters block Highway 4

Hundreds of disorderly demonstrators blocked Highway 4 in the area between the Alluf to Sdeh interchange and the Em HaMoshavot interchange. The police on the scene and clashed with the protesters