Israeli in Canada can’t return for fear of jail time over draft-dodge

28-year-old claims army won’t let her out of service; IDF says it will — but she has to take responsibility for failing to enlist by serving time in prison

By Judah Ari Gross and ToI Staff 22 August 2016, 9:22 pm

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An Israeli woman living in Canada who didn’t enlist in the Israeli army has been refraining from visiting Israel for fear that the military will arrest her for draft-dodging, Channel 10 News reported Sunday.

The 28-year-old woman left Israel with her family at age 15, when her father was sent to Canada for diplomatic purposes on behalf of the state.

Under Israeli law, Jewish citizens are required to serve the state, either in the Israel Defense Forces or through a volunteering program.

As the child of an Israeli diplomat serving abroad, the woman was meant to begin her service at age 20, a military official told The Times of Israel.

However, at age 14, she was discovered to be suffering from a medical condition. The family subsequently requested permission for her to forgo national service, and indeed she received two deferments from the army, the military official said.

When those temporary exemptions ended, she never received another nor did she receive a full release from service, the army said.

When she last visited Israel in 2008, the family provided the army with the necessary documents, and was told she must remain in the country for two months while the matter was examined. Her father says it never was, and she returned to Canada.

From that point, she was considered a draft-dodger.

The woman told Channel 10 she wanted to return to Israel and had put in a request to volunteer instead of performing regular army service, but the army had refused.

A military official disputed that claim.

“If she appears before IDF officials, she can get a full exemption from service as a married woman (she got married during her draft-dodging),” the official said.

“However, that does not exempt her from her responsibility for the crime that she committed,” the official added, referring to her draft-dodging.

“The expected punishment for every year of draft-dodging is 30-45 days for each year that has passed, meaning 8-12 months incarceration,” she told the news channel.