Attorney-General Demands Stronger Action on Draft Evasion
Israel's Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has called for renewed arrests and broader economic sanctions against military draft evaders, warning that weak enforcement against ultra-Orthodox men undermines the draft, leaving potential recruits out of the army and producing unequal enforcement against the rest of the population.
The findings were released by the Attorney-General’s Office on Tuesday in a summary of an August 3 meeting chaired by Baharav-Miara to review enforcement of the draft obligation during the 2025 draft year. Representatives of the IDF, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Israel Police, Population and Immigration Authority and other government bodies took part. The draft year covered July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
Military officials said the gap is closely tied to who is actually arrested. Criminal proceedings generally begin after enforcement authorities detain a draft evader or the evader reports to a military facility, meaning fewer arrests translate into fewer prosecutions. Baharav-Miara concluded that the current level of criminal enforcement does not meet what is required of the state.
According to the summary, military officials said the gap causes real harm to effective draft enforcement, leaving recruitment potential unrealized. It also results in unequal enforcement, including greater enforcement against other sectors of the population.
Haredim Overrepresented Among Draft Evaders
The Attorney General’s Office said that ultra-Orthodox Israelis comprise over 80 percent of all draft evaders in the country. According to data released by the office, around 50,000 of the 60,000 people declared by the IDF to be draft evaders last year were members of the ultra-Orthodox community, just over 83% of the total figure, despite Haredim comprising only around 14% of the population.
Despite the vast majority of those evading conscription being members of the community, the Attorney General’s Office noted that only 34 of the 348 indictments filed for draft dodging so far this year were against Haredim — just under 10% of the total.
In a statement summarizing the discussion, the office said “the phenomenon of draft evasion is still widespread” even though increased enforcement, sanctions and the establishment of special service tracks geared toward Haredim have boosted conscription.
Mixed Progress in Haredi Enlistment
At the same time, the review found that Haredi enlistment increased substantially over the past year. A total of 4,298 Haredi men enlisted during the 2025 draft year, which ran from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, compared with 2,811 the previous year — an increase of about 53%.
The review identified four factors behind the improvement: issuing draft orders, stronger personal economic enforcement, criminal enforcement including arrests, and expansion of military tracks. Officials believe that enforcement combined with appropriate service options was effective, and that reducing enforcement would weaken recruitment and deterrence.
The Attorney General’s Office called for expanding personal economic enforcement measures and for the army and police to resume proactive operations and arrests against evasion from all segments of the population. “In order to continue reducing the phenomenon of draft evasion and respond to the urgent security need to grow the army, it is necessary to expand the basket of personal economic enforcement measures as soon as possible, and the army and police must also return to carrying out proactive operations and arrests against evasion from all segments of the population,” the statement added.
Legal and Political Context
The call comes amid ongoing legal and political battles over conscription. In April, the High Court of Justice ordered the government to explain its failure to issue enough conscription orders to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students and its failure to enforce the orders it had issued. The police subsequently announced that officers had been ordered to detain draft dodgers and wait for Military Police to pick them up.
In July, the Knesset passed a temporary law suspending arrest, investigation, and prosecution for qualifying Haredi yeshiva students. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party helped pass the law, along with another declaring Torah study a “foundational value.” The government told the High Court that Israel needed “Haredi recruits, not Haredi detainees.” However, the High Court froze the arrest-prevention law a day after passage and maintained the freeze after a July 28 hearing.
The review also referenced a June 2024 High Court ruling that the state had no authority to refrain from applying the law to Haredi students, and a November 2025 High Court order to formulate effective and equal enforcement. In April, the High Court directed the state to move ahead with specific economic measures and require police assistance.
Haredi Political Reaction
Moshe Gafni, a Haredi MK and chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, responded sharply to the Attorney General’s statement. Gafni declared that the attorney general had no authority to impose restrictions on yeshiva students, and called Baharav-Miara “impudent, corrupt, and acts against the law.” He also referenced the unsuccessful coalition efforts to fire Baharav-Miara.
Degel HaTorah, the party Gafni represents, is among the staunchest opponents of conscription and has spurred mass protests against it.
The IDF and Police have agreed to resume proactive operations, and the review calls for rapid expansion of personal economic measures. An updated enforcement plan was requested by August 30.