Chabad Yeshiva Bochur Arrested Over Draft Evasion In Eretz Yiroel

In the third arrest this week connected to Israel’s intensifying enforcement against draft dodgers, 20-year-old Chabad yeshiva bochur named Ariel Koren was taken into custody late Monday night by the Rosh HaAyin police and transferred to the military police. Koren, a talmid in a Chabad yeshiva, spent the night behind bars and is expected to appear before a military judge Tuesday, where a decision will be made regarding the continuation of his proceedings.

The arrest of Koren comes amid a broader campaign by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and civil authorities to enforce draft compliance among yeshiva students — a campaign that has provoked widespread concern and controversy in the Chabad community and across other Chareidi sectors.

Historically, yeshiva students — particularly from Charedi schools — benefited from a longstanding military exemption framework known as Torato Umanuto, whereby full-time Torah study allowed deferment and, in many cases, effective exemption from compulsory military service. Under that arrangement, rooted in agreements dating to the founding of the state and subsequent status-quo understandings, young men in yeshivot could delay conscription while dedicating themselves to Torah study.

However, major shifts in recent years — accelerated by rulings from Israel’s Supreme Court and changes in domestic legal interpretation — have upended that longstanding framework. In June 2024, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that indefinite exemptions for yeshiva students were unlawful, prompting the government and military to begin issuing draft notices and enforcement actions to thousands of Charedi draft-eligible men, including yeshiva bochurim.

According to military personnel officials, more than 1,000 arrest warrants have been issued to yeshiva students who failed to respond to draft summonses, representing a dramatic shift from prior practice where enforcement was rarely put into action.

While some sectors of the ultra-Orthodox world had negotiated more limited frameworks with authorities in years past — allowing deferments or phased integration into service — talks between Chabad leadership and the IDF reportedly broke down after these legal changes and enforcement efforts expanded. According to community sources, attempts to renew a specific “Chabad arrangement” failed over the summer and fall, leaving many yeshiva students without the protections or exemptions they previously relied on.

The breakdown has fueled frustration and mobilized rabbinic voices within Chabad to publicly support bochurim facing detention. Letters from prominent Chabad rabbonim have urged resilience and praised those standing firm in their Torah study, characterizing the arrests as part of a broader crisis affecting lomdei Torah throughout the Jewish world.