Israel's attorney-general urges High Court to cut benefits for 110,000 draft evaders

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has urged the High Court of Justice to consider further orders restricting financial benefits for people failing to meet their military recruitment obligations, saying the state is far from using all its powers to enforce the draft.

In an update dated Wednesday, the state reported that 110,330 people had either been formally classified as draft evaders or issued orders requiring them to enlist despite not completing preliminary recruitment procedures. The figures were current as of September 8, with military officials estimating that roughly four-fifths were ultra-Orthodox (haredi).

The filing points to delays in decisions on municipal property-tax discounts, public transport concessions and other subsidies. It argues that further court intervention is needed because ministers have not exercised powers already available to them, while the army urgently needs more personnel.

The update is part of proceedings over enforcing the draft among haredi men. In November 2025, the court ordered the government to formulate an effective, equal and proportionate enforcement policy within 45 days, including economic measures alongside criminal enforcement.

According to the latest filing, the government still has not adopted that policy, despite the January 4 deadline.

The state asks the court to consider additional instructions allowing ministries to make benefits conditional on compliance with military recruitment requirements through administrative decisions, without new primary legislation.

AG targets tax, transport, and education benefits for draft evaders

It singles out property-tax and public transport discounts, saying the professional assessments have been completed but the necessary ministerial decisions remain outstanding. Education Ministry subsidies for after-school and holiday programs, along with state-assisted housing loans, are also among the measures it identifies.

The filing describes these as incentives to encourage enlistment, rather than criminal penalties. It says any conditions must apply equally to people called up across the population, while leaving eligibility unaffected for groups not currently called for military service.

Implementation remains disputed in some areas. The Education Ministry’s director-general has sought to postpone changes to the Nitzanim after-school and holiday programs until the next school year, saying the proposed timetable is unworkable for programs involving hundreds of local authorities and hundreds of thousands of children.

The filing also describes shortcomings in cooperation between the IDF and Israel Police.

According to the update, no planned enforcement operations took place between July 1 and October 12, although limited individual arrests and enforcement at border crossings continued.

IDF, police dispute delays arrest operations targeting draft evaders

Police postponed coordinated arrest operations planned for late May and mid-October. A dispute arose over police demands for substantial additional military personnel: the army argued that maintaining public order was a police responsibility, while police said the requested soldiers were needed to carry out arrests, not control disturbances.

Police also reported that 192 people liable for conscription who were stopped during chance encounters were released with instructions to report to military police. Police said military personnel generally had not arrived within the agreed collection period.

Military police said they were unfamiliar with those cases and had not received the requested list by the time the update was submitted. Police said they would provide it after internal approval.

Haredi military recruitment increases over previous year

The state nevertheless reported an increase in haredi enlistment: 4,298 recruits in the recruitment year running from July 2025 through June 2026, compared with 2,811 the previous year.

It attributed the increase to expanded service options and stronger enforcement, including economic measures, but said recruitment remained far below military needs - in numbers, pace, and the proportion assigned to combat roles.

The state also asked the court to set a further reporting deadline focused on military and police enforcement. Its submission seeks additional judicial instructions; it does not itself impose the proposed benefit restrictions.