Knesset Passes Law Shielding an Estimated 72,000 Haredi Draft Dodgers From Arrest | Israel Politics Post
Knesset Passes Law Shielding an Estimated 72,000 Haredi Draft Dodgers From Arrest
The 58-54 vote temporarily bars prosecution of ultra-Orthodox men who have evaded military service, prompting the IDF chief of staff to call it 'inconceivable' and a deputy foreign minister to resign in protest.
3-MIN READ
By Israel Politics Post Staff·Published
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen leaving the Knesset plenum as opposition MKs shout during the draft-law vote · Source: Knesset Channel, via The Times of Israel
The Knesset passed a law by a vote of 58-54 that temporarily bars the arrest and prosecution of ultra-Orthodox men who have evaded compulsory military service, The Times of Israel reported, a measure that effectively halts most Haredi enlistment into the IDF and grants immunity from arrest to roughly 72,000 eligible draft evaders until late January 2027.
The IDF chief of staff called the measure "inconceivable" and said it ran directly counter to the military's manpower needs amid an ongoing multi-front conflict. Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel resigned from the government in protest over the law's passage.
Opposition parties and civil society groups moved immediately to challenge the measure, filing High Court petitions seeking to overturn it. Inside the chamber, the vote itself turned chaotic: Netanyahu was seen entering the plenum, taking his seat and later leaving the hall as opposition MKs shouted for him to "leave" while the coalition pushed the bill through.
Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers celebrated the law's passage as a long-sought protection for their community, while opponents accused the government of effectively abandoning the broader IDF to a disproportionate burden at a moment of acute strain.
