Knesset backs pause on arrests of haredi draft evaders amid personnel crisis

The Knesset plenum approved by a 58-54 margin on Tuesday a disputed measure that will temporarily halt arrests of haredi draft evaders while the IDF confronts a serious manpower shortage.

Passage occurred despite pointed legal alerts that the measure lacks balance, plus vocal opposition from families who lost loved ones and from army veterans, all set against the backdrop of the military's pressing need for more personnel.

The decision followed a Monday warning from IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir that enacting the law would trigger multiple national security difficulties.

Zamir declared his full and unequivocal opposition to putting the bill into effect.

Among the concerns he highlighted was the risk that the law would reduce enlistment both inside the haredi sector and across the wider population by weakening the perception of the IDF as an army that demands equal service from all citizens.

Eyal Zamir cautions that manpower gaps could soon threaten IDF stability

Zamir has cautioned repeatedly in recent months that the IDF risks operational breakdown without a resolution to the personnel shortfall.

The bill calls for a temporary suspension of arrests for draft evaders, running from the law's publication date until November 30.

The Israel Democracy Institute observed that the measure might extend past its nominal end date because of national elections set for October 27.

Legislation enacted shortly before an election and set to lapse during the campaign period receives an automatic extension of roughly four months, since the Knesset operates under restricted conditions at that time.

Consequently the arrangement would likely stay active for at least six months.

Before the vote, Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik directed lawmakers to disclose any family members listed as draft evaders, noting that haredi MKs with relatives who stand to gain could face conflicts of interest.

Final passage remains uncertain because it is unclear whether the Religious Zionist Party under Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will back the bill.

Earlier reports described friction between Smotrich's party and the haredi factions Shas and United Torah Judaism over the order of bills during the coalition's push to advance its agenda in the Knesset's final week before recess ahead of elections.

On Tuesday further reports indicated that an accord was reached through talks, with each side pledging to support the other's measures in the plenum.

The bill defines a yeshiva student as someone who attends Torah study at a yeshiva for at least 45 hours weekly or at a kollel for at least 40 hours weekly.

It also assigns the defense minister responsibility for preparing the list of qualifying yeshivas according to standards set in future regulations.

The government maintains that pausing arrests would aid broader haredi enlistment by removing actions that have discouraged participation.

Critics and the Knesset's legal adviser contend the bill is unbalanced because it stops arrests without imposing any penalties on evaders.

The Knesset legal team warned in its Sunday opinion that the measure could effectively exempt haredim from service and would fail to promote equal sharing of the burden.

Afik further told the panel that the process used to advance the bill formed part of an improper legislative sequence.

Bill altered substantially since first reading

Critics note that the bill has been reshaped considerably from the version passed at first reading years earlier, after numerous committee sessions revised its original structure inside the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Out of this extended and intricate process only one narrow section was retained while all other elements were removed, a step Afik described as raising concerns more serious than merely introducing a new topic.

She added that although time pressure was cited to complete the bill before recess, insufficient time cannot excuse an improper legislative path.

The bill belongs to a group of haredi-supported measures being advanced amid reports of understandings between the haredi parties and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move coalition legislation.

Haredi parties had withheld support from coalition votes when their own bills advanced too slowly.

The plenum schedule this week includes several contested coalition proposals, among them a measure to limit the attorney-general's authority and a broad overhaul of Israel's broadcasting sector.

The Knesset plenum also approved on Monday another haredi-backed bill that would recognize Torah study as a core value within the Basic Law.

Opponents say the Basic Law on Torah Study promotes draft avoidance and alters the standing of yeshiva students who skip service, allowing them to retain state benefits even while the IDF faces severe manpower shortages.

The IDF has issued repeated alerts about urgent personnel shortfalls after more than two years of conflict.

In April the High Court of Justice directed the state to take concrete action to end key financial benefits for draft evaders and to pursue criminal measures against haredi men who avoid service.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.