The Attorney General's office is demanding urgent improvements to draft enforcement against chareidi draft dodgers, with a focus on proactive enforcement and field arrests. The demand was raised in a hearing held Tuesday, where it was revealed that 64 draft dodgers managed to leave the country without being caught and were arrested only when they returned to Israel.
Between September 1 and 22, the Population Authority and the Military Police concentrated efforts to locate draft dodgers and evaders at Ben Gurion Airport, the Allenby Bridge crossing, and the Taba crossing at the Egyptian border. According to the memo, 212 draft dodgers and evaders were arrested during the operation, approximately 163 of whom were assessed to be from the chareidi public. All those arrested were brought to trial, most in disciplinary proceedings.
At the Taba crossing, 20 Chareidi evaders were caught attempting to leave Israel. At Ben Gurion, 188 were arrested, of whom 64 were caught only upon their return to the country. The figure raised concerns about gaps in enforcement of the exit ban. The Population Authority reported that gaps identified were closed quickly, and that cases of suspected "border smuggling" were transferred to the police or the IDF for handling.
Alongside the border activity, military officials reported that in recent months there has been essentially no proactive enforcement or arrests, in part due to the focus on border crossings and preparations for the holidays. According to the memo, in the past two months approximately ten draft-liable men were arrested incidentally as part of the joint working procedure of the army and police. Military officials announced that proactive enforcement will resume during October, in coordination between the Military Police and police stations.
The memo also notes that from the beginning of the year through September 23, 360 indictments were filed against evaders, 49 of them against draft-liable men assessed to be from the chareidi public. It further states that steps are being advanced to bring evaders to trial after one year of absence, rather than a year and a half, and to bring AWOL soldiers to trial after 30 days.
The Deputy Attorney General demanded urgent improvement in the scope of enforcement, noting that its absence does not befit security needs, the principle of equality, or the state's commitments to the High Court.
