Israel arrests 40 ultra-Orthodox draft evaders at Tel Aviv airport

Around 40 ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who refused military service were arrested at Tel Aviv’s airport after returning to Israel from the United States on Tuesday.

Israeli Army Radio reported that the mass arrests took place after the men arrived on a morning flight from New York.

The ultra-Orthodox Chabad movement, to which the men belonged, has announced a series of protests in response.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had criticized the arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders as “harmful.”

Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud party, is relying on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties in parliamentary elections scheduled for next week.

According to Army Radio, military police had received advance information that the men were aboard a flight from the US and made preparations to arrest them upon arrival.

Additional military police units were deployed to the airport to detain all the men, who were then transported by bus to a major military recruitment centre near Tel Aviv.

Those willing to immediately report for military service and put on a uniform would receive a suspended sentence, the broadcaster reported.

Those who refused would face trial and be sent to a military prison.

Army Radio also reported that the military had warned Israeli police of possible mass protests and urged them to take appropriate security precautions.

The dispute over compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews has long been a source of deep tensions in Israel.

The military is pushing for their conscription because of a shortage of combat soldiers, while ultra-Orthodox parties oppose mandatory military service for members of their religious community.

ANEWS wp:paragraph