Bill freezing arrests of Haredi draft dodgers approved for final Knesset readings

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approves for its final readings in Knesset a bill that would grant ultra-Orthodox military service draft dodgers temporary immunity from arrest for a 90-day period starting on the date the legislation is signed into law.

The committee’s legal adviser had previously warned that the bill was discriminatory and violated the principle of equality before the law, while the Knesset legal adviser had said that the way the bill was legislated was “illegitimate.”

The committee nevertheless approves the bill for its back-to-back second and third readings in the Knesset plenum, which could be held before the Knesset is dissolved at the end of this week.

To be eligible for immunity from arrest, a yeshiva student must study between 40 to 45 hours a week, not including yeshiva vacation periods, in a yeshiva registered by the defense minister for this purpose.

Tens of thousands of Haredi yeshiva students are currently considered draft dodgers and are subject to arrest. Although very few have been detained, the anger and protests over the small number who have been arrested have caused the ultra-Orthodox parties and the coalition a severe political headache, prompting the new legislation to freeze such arrests.