Detained ultra-Orthodox draft-dodger given early release

Yeshiva student was arrested trying to disrupt the Jerusalem Marathon in a protest against the arrest of a fellow shirker

By Jacob Magid

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27 March 2017, 5:49 pm

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during ultra-Orthodox anti-draft protests in Jerusalem on March 23, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

An ultra-Orthodox student arrested for failing to show up at an IDF induction center was released from a military jail on Monday after just nine days of detainment.

Despite receiving a 20-day sentence, the student, whose name has not been publicized, was freed before serving half of his punishment, according to Israel Radio.

The detention of the teenager, the son of an associate of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, sparked protests by followers of the prominent rabbi nationwide over the past week.

He was arrested along with some 100 other ultra-Orthodox supporters of Rabbi Auerbach who had been attempting to disrupt the Jerusalem Marathon earlier this month.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against the arrest of a Jewish seminary student who failed to comply with a recruitment order, at the entrance to Jerusalem, on March 20, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Upon his detention, the student was transferred to the military police, who booked him for failing to appear at the IDF conscription center for over a year.

Auerbach and his followers used the marathon as a platform to protest the country’s mandatory draft as well as the Purim detention of a member of their community for dodging his own induction date.

Many in the ultra-Orthodox community shun the mandatory military service that applies to most Israelis, and the community has historically enjoyed blanket exemptions in favor of religious seminary studies. However, a group of ultra-Orthodox followers of Auerbach refuse to even appear at the recruiting office to apply for exemptions, leading to their arrest by Israeli authorities.