Israeli Government Secretary Urges Advancement of Law to Prevent Arrests of Draft Dodgers

On Saturday evening, Israeli Government Secretary Yossi Fox sent a letter to Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, urging him to advance legislation aimed at preventing the arrest of draft dodgers. The letter specified that criminal enforcement should cease for individuals proven to be yeshiva students whose primary focus is Torah study, rather than for ultra-Orthodox individuals not enrolled in yeshivas, provided there is effective supervision.

Earlier that evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a press conference that police had entered Haredi "yeshiva sedarim" (study sessions) and arrested Torah students. He stated, "If I said that police are brought into yeshivas where Torah is studied and take them into custody, you would be shocked." However, contrary to Netanyahu's claim, there are no proactive arrests conducted inside yeshivas, nor do police enter to detain students. The procedure is that if a draft-dodger is stopped by a police officer (for example, a traffic officer) and identified via database as evading service, the officer waits about half an hour for military police to arrive and make the arrest.

Netanyahu's remarks sparked immediate reactions. Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu, accusing him of conceding territory to Lebanon without any reciprocal gains or achieving separation between Iranian and Lebanese fronts.