Draft Evaders

Rosh Hashanah in Uman?

Dozens arrested before leaving Israel

About 70 Breslov Hassidim are reportedly in military jails after arrests ahead of Rosh Hashanah, as legal aid is offered to those returning from Uman.

Unanimously:

Supreme Court strikes down law freezing haredi draft arrests

Nine-judge panel strikes down the amendment freezing enforcement proceedings against haredi men subject to military service. Eight rule it was also unconstitutional.

Haredi fund offers draft evaders NIS 1,000 a day in prison

Senior Lithuanian haredi rabbis back 'Prison 1,000' fund designed to reward draft evaders for each day spent behind bars.

Uman-bound haredi draft evaders stopped at airport, Taba border

Six haredi men caught trying to leave Israel at Ben Gurion Airport; dozens more headed for Uman stopped over active exit bans.

Can’t get to Uman?

Breslov hassidim prepare a Rosh Hashanah plan B

With draft dodgers facing obstacles to leaving Israel, Breslov organizers prepare Meron for thousands who may be unable to spend Rosh Hashanah in Uman.

Haredi man arrested days before his son’s circumcision

A Hasidic yeshiva student was arrested at a military base in Eilat and sentenced to ten days in military prison, just days before his son’s brit milah ceremony.

Police: Car was stolen

Protesters rush to IDF checkpoint over arrest

Haredi protesters block Route 443, believing a draft evader was being detained, but police say he was arrested in a stolen car before his status was discovered.

Manual for draft evaders?

Controversial IDF video quickly deleted

IDF removes an AI-generated video explaining how haredi draft evaders can resolve their status and travel abroad, admitting it violated spokesperson guidelines.

How draft evaders beat Ben Gurion Airport controls

Investigation reveals alleged loopholes allowing haredi draft evaders barred from leaving Israel to bypass border controls and board flights abroad.

Haredi extremists protest, Geha Interchange blocked

Extremists blocked the Geha Interchange, in the Petah Tikva and Bnei Brak area, as well as Jabotinsky Street, which separates the two cities, in protest against the arrest of a Haredi draft dodger.

Over draft status:

Tax Authority tightens rules for haredi yeshivas

New requirements expand a policy previously applied only to new institutions, potentially affecting haredi yeshivas across Israel.

Protests expected following yeshiva student's arrest

Arrest of alleged haredi draft evader ends five weeks of relative calm, with protesters expected to target Highway 4 near Bnei Brak.

Haredi draft evaders:

Yeshiva student arrested and handed over to Military Police

Escalation in draft battle: Yeshiva student arrested, clashes erupt at Maccabim checkpoint.

Thousands of Breslov hasidim may be blocked from Uman

As the Jewish New Year approaches, rabbis weigh controversial plan to allow haredi draft evaders barred from leaving Israel to make the pilgrimage.

AG demands action

80% of draft dodgers found to come from haredi community

A summary of the latest draft year finds that haredim account for about 80% of all draft evaders. The Attorney General is demanding expanded sanctions and the resumption of proactive arrests.

MK Simcha Rothman:

'Reserve duty burden must be shared by more people'

Religious Zionism MK says gradual haredi enlistment could ease burden on reservists and enable more soldiers to return to their families, calls for 61-seat right-wing majority that is loyal to the national camp.

Protesting draft dodger arrest

Haredi extremists block central Israel highway

Extreme subfaction of Jerusalem Faction block Route 4 near Bnei Brak after a yeshiva student was supposedly arrested and handed over to the military police after being summoned for interrogation.

Sanzer Rebbe: Most Israelis do not hate Torah learners

Sanzer Rebbe meets young haredi man recently freed from military prison, praises his steadfastness, insisting 'most Jews in Israel' do not hate Torah students.

Haredi allies turn on Netanyahu over Draft Law

Haredi factions disagree on response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements on law preventing arrest of haredi draft evaders, exposing internal rift.

Netanyahu:

Arrest Law will not be reinstated

PM Netanyahu said the law freezing draft evader arrests failed to boost haredi enlistment, pledging new legislation after the elections: 'Those who do not study Torah will enlist - or go to prison.'

Watch

Netzah Yehuda soldiers attacked in Jerusalem

Three soldiers from the IDF's Netzah Yehuda Battalion were assaulted after entering the area of a protest march in Jerusalem, where participants chanted slogans against military service.

'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."