Haredi MK asks Huckabee to pressure Israel to stop arresting draft evaders, says Trump administration ‘honors the Torah’

United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush has sent a letter to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, asking him to pressure Israeli authorities against arresting ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

“Today, under the leadership of a true personal friend of the Jewish people, President Donald J Trump – who heads a “Kingdom of Kindness” (“Malchut Shel Chesed”) – we see an administration that also honors the Torah of the Jewish people,” reads the letter circulated by UTJ’s Agudat Yisrael faction, chaired by Porush.

“I appeal to you with the request that the American government exercise its moral influence and call upon the judicial authorities in Israel to immediately and completely cease the arrests of Torah scholars Yeshiva students,” the documents further reads, suggesting that this would be a fitting way for the United States to mark “Jewish American Heritage Month,” which is celebrated in May.

Over 79,000 conscription orders have been issued to ultra-Orthodox men since the High Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that they were obligated to enlist, after the law allowing for blanket exemptions expired the previous year.

Since that time, only 2,100 have enlisted, while the police have generally avoided arresting those who have ignored enlistment orders. Between January 2025 and January 2026, only 17 Haredi men were proactively arrested by police for draft evasion.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.