AG to Netanyahu: Government must immediately introduce stricter measures against Haredi draft dodgers

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to instruct all relevant government departments to immediately lay out a plan for increasing enforcement against ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers.

She says that only 1,700 men from the Haredi community enlisted in the 2024-2025 draft year, whereas the government had committed to the High Court of Justice to draft at least 3,000.

“A situation in which the government, on the one hand, is not taking the minimal means to increase enforcement of the draft obligation, and, on the other hand, is making the burden [of military service] even heavier for those serving in regular and reserve duty, constitutes a severe blow to the right to equality, and greatly increases the inequality in military service and the harm to those who serve,” Baharav-Miara tells Netanyahu.

“Your clear instructions are therefore needed to all relevant government departments to present in the immediate term a program for increasing enforcement, including through cabinet and administrative decisions which the government can make without needing to pass legislation,” she adds.

The attorney general’s comments come as Netanyahu manages a severe coalition crisis with the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are demanding the government pass legislation reinstating blanket military service exemptions for yeshiva students.