From the Liveblog of
Friday, June 19, 2026
Top police rabbi reportedly tells local Haredi leaders that cops will ease up on arresting draft dodgers
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Chief police rabbi Commander Rami Brachyahu has reportedly reached out to the heads of several ultra-Orthodox municipalities in an attempt to set up a meeting with Commissioner Danny Levy in order to “declare a change in policy” regarding the arrest of Haredi draft evaders.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, Brachyahu claimed that police were willing to change their policy on the matter in light of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party’s decision to suspend cooperation with law enforcement.
Responding to the report, the Israel Police states that Brachyahu “regularly maintains dialogue and working relationships with heads of authorities, community leaders and public figures from all sectors in Israel, as part of the police’s activities to strengthen the connection with the community and the public.”
The police tell Kan there is “no connection” between such meetings and police enforcement policies, which are “determined and implemented in accordance with the provisions of the law and according to the relevant professional considerations.”
Last month, the Israel Police, responding to harsh criticism from both the military and the High Court of Justice, announced that Levy had issued new orders to officers to detain draft dodgers and wait for the Military Police to pick them up. In response, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni instructed local party representatives on regional councils across the country to halt all cooperation with the police.
“Following the change in policy by the Israel Police, and so that we do not, God forbid, become complicit in harming the holy Torah and those who study it, I request that you immediately halt all cooperation with the Israel Police, including the municipal policing units, until further notice,” Gafni wrote in a letter to party representatives.
Despite the new policy, Brachyahu told ultra-Orthodox radio station Radio Kol Barama last month that police will no longer arrest Haredi draft evaders who come to police stations to file complaints.
After dozens of Haredi rioters broke into the Beit Shemesh police station following the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox draft evader in the city at the end of May, Mayor Shmuel Greenberg, a member of Degel HaTorah, declined to issue a statement condemning the violence.
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