A haredi man who was trying to avoid IDF conscription was arrested at Ben Gurion airport on Thursday night while trying to flee the country, Israeli media reported on Friday.
According to N12, this marks the first arrest of an ultra-Orthodox deserter since the exemption status of haredim was revoked in July 2024, and 3000 draft orders were sent out.
Activists from haredi protest organizations reportedly intend to demonstrate against the man’s arrest outside Neve Tzedek military prison.
In early February, Attornery-General Gali Baharav-Miara and officials in the IDF raised the need to expand sanctions on ultra-Orthodox members of the military who did not respond to draft orders or who did not report to recruitment offices.
Haredi draft
In June, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the Defense Ministry must cease its long-term exemption for ultra-Orthodox students.
The shift prompted protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up 13% of Israel’s 10 million population – a figure expected to reach 19% by 2035.
Last week, The Jerusalem Post reported that the government intends to begin by drafting 4,800 haredim in the 2024 draft year (between July 2024–June 2025), 5,760 haredim in the 2025 draft year (July 2025–June 2026), and then a gradual increase until reaching a number equivalent to 50% of the 18-year-old haredi cohort within seven years.
