IDF says it is reviewing protocols after rabbis allowed to visit detainees in military prison

The Israel Defense Forces says it is reviewing procedures at its Beit Lid military prison after prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis visited yeshiva students jailed for draft evasion in recent days.

On Thursday, Rabbi Dov Lando — a leading figure in the Lithuanian Haredi community and spiritual leader of United Torah Judaism’s Degel HaTorah faction — visited brothers Rafael and Baruch Yitzhakov, telling them the “entire Haredi community stands behind you” and urging them to “be strong and hold firm.”

The IDF says the visit was carried out without proper authorization.

Yesterday, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, arrived at the prison alongside members of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages. They were initially denied entry but were later allowed inside “to avoid unnecessary confrontations,” according to the military.

The army says it will ensure prison visitation rules are “enforced equally and in full” to prevent similar incidents.

The visits come amid ongoing tensions over the IDF draft, after the High Court struck down blanket exemptions for Haredi men last year.