Local leaders warn law banning arrest of Haredi draft-dodgers deals ‘severe blow to national resilience’

The heads of dozens of local authorities have blasted the government over recent legislation aimed at enabling blanket exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

A letter signed by local leaders across the country, including members of the ruling Likud party, warns that a bill approved Tuesday to ban the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers for seven months deals “a severe blow to national resilience and the cohesion of Israeli society.”

The move to “legitimize draft evasion of an entire group,” they say, “should never have come into existence, and certainly not during this complex time and in the face of the challenges Israel is currently confronting, as well as the challenges we will yet be required to face in the future.”

The mayors add: “Torah study is an important value in the Jewish nation, but no less important is the value of guarding and defending the land. Many of our residents prove that it is indeed possible to both study Torah and serve the country in the IDF and security forces.”

The legislation has since been frozen by the High Court of Justice as it prepares to review it.