From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 2, 2026
Israel Police block IDF from detaining Haredi draft evaders — report
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Israel Police is preventing the IDF Military Police from arresting draft evaders in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, according to a reported summary of a meeting held by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, on the enforcement of conscription as demanded by the High Court of Justice.
The Haaretz daily reports that Baharav-Miara confirmed the document to the outlet.
Representatives of the IDF at the meeting — the 12th on the matter — said that the police were not cooperative with the military on the matter, and were not giving the Military Police approval to operate in Haredi neighborhoods, according to the reported summary.
According to the representatives, ultra-Orthodox evaders who are arrested by Israel Police are not held, but rather are given a summons to the Military Police facility.
“Army officials even noted that according to police policy, members of the Haredi community arrested in random arrests by the police, who turn out during the detention to be deserters or evaders, are in fact released on their way,” the summary reportedly says.
The army has identified that 71,000 people are evading military service, 80 percent of them Haredim, according to data discussed in the meeting, media reports say.
While there has been a slight rise in the rate of Haredim joining the army under current circumstances, it is “far from fulfilling the needs of the army or the value of equality.”
The representatives said that the current bill to regulate exemptions for ultra-Orthodox students creates a negative incentive for them to join the military, since the legislation will restore state funding for yeshivas, and advised stronger economic sanctions to enforce conscription.
The Times of Israel Community.