From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 7, 2026
Haredi party leaders visit detained draft evaders, vow continued support
Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The leaders of ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism say that they visited detained Haredi draft evaders today to “boost their morale.”
UTJ chair Yitzhak Goldknopf, Shas chair Aryeh Deri, and other party leaders visited about ten Haredi detainees. According to a statement from the Shas party, the visit was intended to assure the detainees that they are “doing all that they can to secure their swift release and resolve their status.”
Deri accused authorities of treating Torah students like criminals and pledged to continue advancing legislation protecting their status.
The visits come as Shas and UTJ are pushing to advance legislation this week enshrining Torah study as a Basic Law, as a way to further cement military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.
Over the past two years, the military has sent out tens of thousands of enlistment orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community whose exemptions from mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces were revoked under a 2024 High Court ruling. Most have ignored the orders, leading to large numbers of young men being classified as evaders and being subject to arrest or other sanctions.
While the military has made no move to arrest all 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18-24 believed to be eligible for service, the detainment of even a small number has ignited anger and occasionally violence in Haredi enclaves.
The Times of Israel Community.