Military Police reportedly set to step up raids on Haredi draft dodgers

Military Police are set to begin a large-scale arrest operation tomorrow against ultra-Orthodox men who ignored enlistment orders, Channel 13 news reports.

The network reports that dozens of Israel Defense Forces draft evaders are expected to be arrested in the operation.

The IDF in the coming weeks will complete sending out draft orders to 24,000 Haredi men, wrapping up an effort that began last summer but has seen only a handful enlist.

Earlier this week, a military official acknowledged that in practice, the IDF had not been enforcing the draft orders it was sending out to the ultra-Orthodox, who have traditionally been granted exemptions from military service. Haredi politicians are attempting to legislate new rules aimed at reinstating those exemptions after courts found them to be unconstitutional.

“We don’t enforce the draft orders for the ultra-Orthodox enough,” the official said. “There is almost no enforcement of them.”

Previous attempts to enforce draft orders have been met with large-scale protests from the community, including demonstrations that have turned violent.