Election day will be free of draft-dodger enforcement operations, election commission says

Israel’s Central Elections Committee said on Tuesday that no enforcement operations related to drafting draft evaders will take place on the day of the Knesset election. The decision followed appeals to the committee and a joint approach by committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, who is also a deputy president of the Supreme Court, and acting director general Din Livne, to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Police Commissioner Danny Levy.

According to the committee, the arrangement was agreed by the election chairman, the attorney general and the police commissioner, and means that every voter will be able to reach the polling station. The committee said the move was taken because of the importance of the right to vote. Levy said police will operate with reinforced forces on election day to ensure the vote is conducted properly and to maintain public order, a statement Sohlberg welcomed.

The announcement came after days of protests by ultra-Orthodox demonstrators over arrests of draft dodgers. Last week, heavy traffic disruptions were reported in the Bnei Brak area when dozens of Haredi protesters blocked Route 4 near the city entrance during the morning rush hour. Police were called in to stop the closures and move the protesters off the road.

Later that day, thousands from the Jerusalem Faction held a major rally outside Military Prison 10 near Beit Lid, protesting the arrest of yeshiva students classified as draft evaders and the transfer of detainees arrested during a protest outside Sohlberg’s home. Police estimated the crowd at about 10,000 people, including the Gerrer Rebbe.