A Gerer yeshiva bochur studying at Yeshivas Sfas Emes was arrested Wednesday at an Israeli military draft office and immediately sentenced to 20 days in military prison after being classified by the IDF as a draft evader, despite having reportedly appeared at the enlistment office three separate times in an effort to regularize his status.
The arrest has sparked outrage within the Gerer community, where officials insist the young man made every effort to comply with the military’s instructions and that bureaucratic delays at the draft offices ultimately led to his imprisonment.
According to sources in Ger, the bochur‘s original reporting date was Monday. He arrived that day, but mistakenly went to the draft office in Yerushalayim instead of the office in Haifa, where he had been instructed to report.
Personnel in Yerushalayim directed him to the Haifa office, but by the time he arrived there, the office was preparing to close. He was instructed to return the following day.
The bochur returned to the Haifa draft office on Tuesday as instructed. However, according to those close to him, his case was not processed, and he was again told to return on Wednesday.
When he appeared for the third consecutive day on Wednesday morning, military officials informed him that because two days had passed since his original reporting date on Monday, he was now officially classified as absent without authorization and therefore considered a draft evader.
He was immediately tried by military authorities and sentenced to 20 days in military prison.
Officials in Ger contend that the imprisonment resulted solely from delays and repeated runarounds at the draft offices, arguing that the young man consistently followed every instruction he was given and genuinely sought to resolve his status.
The case is the latest in a growing series of arrests involving bnei yeshiva in recent days and has intensified criticism within the Chareidi community regarding the military’s handling of draft matters.
Just one day earlier, another ben yeshiva—a grandson of the Ziditchov Rebbe—was arrested after reporting to a draft office to address his status and was likewise classified as a draft evader, an incident that generated widespread outrage throughout the Chareidi community.
Community leaders say the military and defense establishment continue to demonstrate a lack of sensitivity to the unique realities of the Chareidi public.
“When an ordinary yeshiva bochur is arrested, localized protests immediately break out,” community sources said. “But when the person arrested is the grandson of an Admor or a chassid from a well-known family, the situation changes entirely and the public reaction becomes much more intense.”
Many within the Chareidi community now fear that the recent arrests could trigger widespread demonstrations, particularly because several of those detained were young men who, according to their supporters, were acting in good faith to regularize their status but instead became caught in bureaucratic delays.
The latest arrest also comes just a day after the Knesset approved legislation temporarily freezing the arrest of yeshiva bochurim over draft-related issues. That law, however, has since been suspended by an interim order issued by Israel’s High Court of Justice, leaving thousands of bnei yeshiva in continued legal uncertainty.
{Matzav.com}