{"id":175474,"date":"2026-08-02T14:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T14:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/175474\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T14:02:09","slug":"benjamin-netanyahu-draft-dodgers-will-either-enlist-or-go-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/175474\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin Netanyahu: Draft dodgers will either ‘enlist or go to prison’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told officials on Sunday that if re-elected, he would not advance the contentious law that seeks to freeze the arrests of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft evaders<\/a>, which his coalition recently passed last month.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu had said that the legislation<\/a> was unsuccessful and that it would be discontinued in the next government, according to a Sunday KAN report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report further added that Netanyahu had said draft evaders who do not study Torah will either “enlist or go to prison.”<\/p>\n

The Knesset<\/a> passed the contentious bill last month that seeks to temporarily freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, a measure that was expected to remain in effect for at least six months. The High Court of Justice later froze the law and is still set to determine whether to strike it down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The passage of the bill in its final readings came following severe legal warnings that the legislation is unbalanced and will not increase haredi enlistment amid the IDF\u2019s severe manpower shortage, as well as outrage from bereaved families and reservists.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026 (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG\/FLASH90)Haredi parties push for legislation not to increase haredi enlistment<\/p>\n

Netanyahu had also reportedly said during the Sunday meeting that the law freezing draft dodger arrests was meant to be only a temporary solution, intended to “lower the flames and increase the number of recruits among the haredi public,” according to the KAN report.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu also said in the meeting that after the next elections, he plans to establish a “broad national government” that will pass a “full conscription law<\/a> that meets the IDF’s needs,” a separate N12 report added.<\/p>\n

The haredi parties have continuously encouraged Netanyahu’s coalition to advance legislation that would not increase haredi enlistment. Various attempts at developing a conscription law throughout the government’s term have been highly controversial, with critics arguing that the legislation was primarily intended to appease the haredi parties in Netanyahu’s coaltion – rather than increase enlistment.<\/p>\n

Defense Minister Israel Katz had arrived at the plenum to vote in favor of the haredi arrest freeze legislation in its final readings. \u00a0Netanyahu had also joined the plenum ahead of the vote, appearing to support the legislation.<\/p>\n

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir had warned ahead of the legislation’s passage that implementing such a law would create an array of national security problems.<\/p>\n

Zamir has also warned in recent months that the IDF could soon collapse if no solution is found for the manpower shortage.<\/p>\n

Spokespeople from both the Prime Minister\u2019s Office and Netanyahu\u2019s ruling Likud Party did not immediately respond to The Jerusalem Post\u2019s request for comment on the reports of Netanyahu\u2019s Sunday remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opposition party leaders criticize the bill, calling it ‘political spin’<\/p>\n

Opposition party leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu in the upcoming elections sharply criticized the premier’s reported remarks, accusing them of being political spin.<\/p>\n

Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a leading rival candidate against the prime minister, said that “Netanyahu continues to hold the public in contempt. The public won’t buy this latest spin, which stems from his fear of the polls.”<\/p>\n

“Netanyahu, for four years you blocked a genuine conscription law. With your own hands, you strengthened draft dodgers and deserters at the expense of those who serve. You had so many opportunities to rise to the occasion – to be a leader. You failed,” he added.<\/p>\n

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together Party, called Netanyahu’s remarks a “pathetic spin.”<\/p>\n

“These spins do not work on our soldiers, our reservists and their families, or anyone who understands that IDF enlistment is an existential necessity,” Bennett added<\/p>\n

Yisrael Beytenu party leader MK Avigdor Liberman said that Netanyahu was “feeding everyone nonsense and is trying to divert the public conversation away from his failures. One thing is certain, he has no government without the draft dodgers.”<\/p>\n

Yisrael Beytanu had filed a petition to the High Court against the legislation following its passage, calling to strike it down.<\/p>\n

Democrats Party leader Yair Golan also sharply criticized Netanyahu’s statements, noting that “the leaks from these ‘closed-door meetings’ are just another pathetic and cynical spin by a man who has lost all connection to Israel’s security.”<\/p>\n

“The IDF is desperately short of combat soldiers, the reserve system is buckling under the strain, and Netanyahu continues to lie brazenly simply to stop his party from bleeding mandates,” Golan added.<\/p>\n

Yoaz Hendel, who leads The Zionist Home-The Reservists along with Chili Tropper, also denounced Netanyahu, saying, “No matter how many promises Netanyahu makes before the elections, the public (who serve in the military) will not forget.”<\/p>\n

“We will not forget the surrender to the haredi parties. We will not forget the political protection he paid for them, or the abandonment of security in favor of the integrity of government,” he added.<\/p>\n

“We will not forget the contempt for Torah… we will not forget the blasphemy in passing laws that abrogate the obligation to go to war as a mitzvah. We will not forget that they kept the military small and prevented us from winning,” he stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told officials on Sunday that if re-elected, he would not advance the contentious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[16469],"tags":[244,39686,22108,32455],"class_list":["post-175474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-haredi","tag-haredi-draft","tag-ultra-orthodox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117026288160285243","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}