IDF: 27 of 42 Haredi draft evaders arrested at airport released after promising to enlist

Among the 42 ultra-Orthodox male draft evaders who were apprehended at Ben Gurion Airport this morning as they landed in Israel, 27 have been released home after expressing willingness to enlist, the IDF says.

The 27 signed an agreement before a judge committing to enlist “and were found fit for military service,” the IDF says. They received suspended jail sentences and will soon begin enlistment procedures and start their service.

Another 13 draft dodgers refused to enlist and were “consequently tried and sent to military prison,” the IDF says.

The IDF says two others, “who had been evading military service for an extended period of more than 540 days,” were immediately sent to a military prison upon being detained at the airport.

The men are members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community who were returning to Israel following a year studying abroad in New York.

The Military Police had received advance information about their arrival and dispatched additional officers to the airport.

The IDF says it “will continue to enforce the Defense Service Law equally and uphold the obligation to serve.”