Israeli Military Police arrested two ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students early Wednesday after they refused to report for compulsory military service, amid renewed debate surrounding the draft exemption for the Haredi community.
The arrests took place overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday at the students’ homes in Ramat Gan and Givatayim, according to ultra-Orthodox sources. One of the men studies at the Itri Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and the other attends the Ateret Shlomo–Sorotzkin Yeshiva in Rishon Lezion.
Friends of the Itri student said he had been classified as a deserter for about six months after refusing to appear at a draft office under rabbinic instruction. They described him as “one of the leading students and pillars of the yeshiva.”
The arrests come amid renewed political debate over legislation to regulate the status of ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that a new draft law would pass during the current Knesset session, but it remains unclear when that will happen—or whether it will pass at all.
Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, had pledged to present a bill by Tuesday. On Monday, however, he announced that the process would take longer and postponed all committee discussions after scheduling a meeting with Netanyahu.
In recent days, as ultra-Orthodox political leaders signaled possible support for the general principles of Bismuth’s proposal, hardline Haredi factions issued public statements rejecting any law that would permit—even on paper—the drafting of ultra-Orthodox men, whether under limited quotas or in special tracks overseen by rabbis.
Members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee were told Monday that the committee’s legal advisors needed more time to finalize the draft legislation, leading to the postponement of upcoming discussions.
Shas party leader Aryeh Deri said Tuesday at the Jerusalem International Convention Center that “the most important thing for our revered teacher, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, in his final years was to regulate the status of yeshiva students so they would not be labeled as deserters. This was his life’s mission, and we will not rest until that is achieved.”