Tax Authority to move against tax breaks for yeshivas tied to draft dodgers

Israel’s Tax Authority is expected to soon begin stripping tax benefits from ultra-Orthodox nonprofits that fund draft dodgers, according to a Wednesday report on Kan News. In the coming weeks, it plans to contact Haredi yeshivas whose donations currently qualify for tax relief and demand that they declare whether draft dodgers study there.

The yeshivas will also be required to submit student lists for cross-checking against military records. Any yeshiva found to include draft dodgers will lose the tax benefits, which are estimated to amount to tens of millions of shekels a year.

The move follows guidance issued about a month ago by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who said that anyone donating to yeshivas whose students do not enlist would not be eligible for tax advantages. The instruction drew fierce reactions from Haredi parties, amid estimates that the damage could reach tens to hundreds of millions of shekels annually.

Kan News reported that before responding to the High Court of Justice, Baharav-Miara had already instructed the Tax Authority and professional officials to prepare a policy framework to stop subsidizing donations to Haredi yeshivas. Two weeks ago, it was also reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is working to restore the tax benefits for nonprofits that fund yeshivas whose students do not enlist.