Tax Inspectors Attacked in Bnei Brak Amid Tensions Over Yeshiva Exemptions

Tax Authority inspectors were attacked on Thursday in the Kiryat Vizhnitz neighborhood of Bnei Brak during a routine inspection in the local business area. The incident occurred as hundreds of students from nearby ultra-Orthodox educational institutions were leaving school before noon. A large crowd quickly gathered around the inspectors despite no arrests or similar enforcement actions taking place. The inspectors’ vehicle was pelted with stones, eggs, and other objects, causing significant damage. Police forces were urgently dispatched to the scene and worked under pressure to extract the inspectors from the hostile crowd. Video footage shows the inspectors attempting to drive through the throng while officers try to maintain order amid shouted warnings such as "They must not enter here again" and derogatory calls directed at a lone female officer present.

Separately, the Israeli Supreme Court announced that a nine-justice panel will hear petitions regarding the cancellation of draft evasion arrests on July 28. The panel will be led by Deputy President Noam Sohlberg and include justices Daphne Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Wilner, Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein, Gila Kanfi-Steinitz, Yechiel Kasher, and Ruth Ronen.

In a related development, the Supreme Court rejected a petition by the "Free Israel" organization seeking to revoke Section 46 tax benefits for yeshivas with draft evaders. Section 46 allows tax deductions for donations to recognized public institutions and nonprofits. The court ruled the petition moot since the Tax Authority and State Attorney Gali Baharav-Miara have already adopted the petitioners’ stance, requiring 13 yeshivas to declare no draft evaders among their students. The petition argued that tax deductions effectively constitute indirect public funding for institutions harboring draft evaders, which is impermissible under prior court rulings.

The state has largely accepted "Free Israel’s" position, halting new or renewed Section 46 approvals for such institutions and beginning immediate enforcement. "Free Israel" CEO Uri Kedar stated, "The days when donors to draft-evading yeshivas could receive tax credits are officially over. State mechanisms will stop funding institutionalized draft evasion, even if we must continue shutting off the taps one by one. The government is trying to incentivize draft evasion, and we are putting an end to it. It is time for equality."