Attorney General calls on government to 'sanction draft dodgers'

"The government should impose personal sanctions on those evading enlistment," Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara wrote to the government on Tuesday. In a letter sent to the Defense Ministry, various steps proposed by experts were presented to immediately fill the ranks of the army.

Filling the unique role in Israel as a legal advisor for the government in addition to similar roles to her position in other countries, Baharav-Miara noted "the acute need of the army to increase the number of conscripts." In a meeting convened to address the issue, the letter said "enforcement measures need to be increased against the ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers who refuse to comply with the recruitment orders sent to them, in order to fill the ranks of the army and meet the pressing security needs."

This comes as the government moves to pass laws to allow payment to ultra-Orthodox men, even if they have received draft orders that were ignored. Since the war began, growing calls have demanded that the ultra-Orthodox, also known as Haredi, yeshiva students take part in the defense of the country, overturning decades of Israeli policy.

"Beyond being a severe violation of equality, the military is facing a significant lack of manpower needed to fulfill its missions," the letter continued. "The systematic and widespread evasion of military service thus harms the security of the state."

Against this backdrop, the Attorney General highlighted to the Minister of Defense the importance of taking immediate decisions, considering the army's needs, to enhance enforcement and to impose personal sanctions on evaders in place of new legislation, as this can be implemented with administrative or governmental decisions. So far, Defense Minister Israel Katz has not responded to the letter from the government's legal advisor.

Earlier on Tuesday, former prime minister and defense minister Naftali Bennett said that "every soldier called up by the IDF must stand for the defense of our country. While this government sends fighters to battle, it cannot be transferring billions to encourage mass Haredi evasion. Governmental encouragement of institutional evasion during wartime is an immoral act with a black flag waving above it. I demand from Knesset members not to support the evasion budget during wartime. Whoever supports this will bear a mark of Cain on his forehead."