Gov't failing to sanction haredi draft dodgers, says A-G
The government has not yet actualized the sanctions it should impose on eligible haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men who don't report for duty despite their draft orders, the Attorney-General's Office and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara stated on Tuesday.
The office's response was to the issue of materializing a previous High Court of Justice ruling, which said the state does not have the authority or the leeway to prevent a haredi draft, given the continuous security situation Israel is in.
Throughout July, the IDF sent out the 54,000 draft orders to all eligible men in the haredi community, and also updated its enforcement and sanction plan, making it more efficient.
An existing draft law that made it easy for many haredim to be exempt from service expired in June 2024, leaving behind a legislative vacuum. The coalition struggled to maintain its hold on power as haredi parties of both Sephardi and Ashkenazi sects threatened to topple the government over the next draft bill text.
Legally, part of the issue is that there is no set categorical distinction for haredim in the matter of military conscription, as it is a blanket requirement.
Former Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein was ousted from his position for insisting on relatively fair terms. Likud MK Boaz Bismuth took his place, and reports say that passing a law that the haredi parties would find favorable is at the top of his agenda.
The tension and lawsuits come amid the overwhelmingly straining load that the serving public – active duty and reserves – has been bearing, reaching new, painful, and concerning heights when it comes to mental and emotional health. There is currently no concrete end to the war projected for the near future.
Though the military has sharpened its response plan to draft dodgers in a serious way that is more effective and has begun to materialize, the government has many more tools at its disposal to apply the sanctions in a more complete way, the Attorney-General's Office said, adding that some of these tools can be advanced already now, without special legislation.
IDF possesses extensive tools to apprehend draft dodgers
The military's tools are extensive, including presence at Ben-Gurion Airport to apprehend anyone who repeatedly avoids their draft order and tries to leave the country.
The office requested that one of the injunctions the court issued be extended – to ensure that none of the parameters of the current draft requirements are changed.
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