Israel’s attorney general is calling on the IDF and police to resume proactive operations and arrests targeting draft evaders, while also demanding an expansion of economic and personal sanctions, after an annual review found that approximately 80% of those currently classified as draft evaders are members of the chareidi community.
The review covers the military recruitment year that ended in June 2026 and was conducted under the leadership of the attorney general. Representatives from the IDF, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Israel Police, Population and Immigration Authority, National Digital Agency and other government bodies participated in the assessment.
Alongside the figures on draft evasion, officials reported an increase in the number of chareidim entering military service. According to the review, the combination of issuing draft orders to all eligible chareidi men, intensifying economic and personal enforcement measures, and adapting military service tracks for chareidi recruits has proven effective in increasing enlistment.
The figures presented during the review indicate that approximately 50,000 chareidim are currently classified as draft evaders, while another roughly 31,000 have been issued what is known as a “Tzav 12.” Since the beginning of the year, 34 indictments have been filed against chareidim for draft evasion.
The data further shows that 679 military deserters have faced disciplinary proceedings since August 2025, while 860 arrests were carried out over the past year.
In addition, 244 individuals were detained by police, while another 1,528 were stopped at Ben Gurion Airport and other border crossings. During the past three months alone, authorities prevented 1,061 deserters from leaving Israel through border crossings.
Justice Ministry officials concluded that additional enforcement measures should be introduced as quickly as possible in order to further reduce draft evasion and address what the government describes as the military’s urgent need for additional manpower.
At the same time, the attorney general determined that the IDF and Israel Police should resume proactive enforcement operations and arrests against draft evaders from all sectors of the population, citing the principle of equal enforcement.
In a response submitted by the attorney general to the High Court, officials acknowledged that carrying out proactive arrests of chareidi draft evaders presents significant practical difficulties because such operations have repeatedly triggered large-scale protests and disturbances.
The filing said military and police officials had pointed to “the significant difficulty that currently exists in carrying out proactive operations and arresting draft evaders from the chareidi community, in light of the large-scale public disturbances accompanying them.”
Authorities also noted that responding to the protests surrounding such arrests requires the deployment of substantial police and security resources.
Despite those difficulties, professional officials maintained that proactive operations and arrests remain important enforcement tools and can serve as a deterrent against draft evasion.
{Matzav.com}
