Jerusalem, 20 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli political leaders traded accusations Tuesday after military police detained more than 40 Orthodox (Haredi) students at Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday, with the arrests triggering claims of political interference just one week before Israel’s October 27 election.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the detentions as “unacceptable,” while leaders of the Haredi United Torah Judaism and Shas parties accused law enforcement authorities of trying to influence the election. Opposition leader Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, accused Netanyahu of seeking to Haredi political support through military service exemptions.
The students, members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, were detained Tuesday morning upon returning from a year of religious studies at the movement’s international headquarters in New York. Some had their passports confiscated after authorities identified them as suspected draft refusers.
Dozens of detainees were reportedly released, while others were transferred to military custody at the Israel Defense Forces’ recruitment center at Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, to face disciplinary proceedings. According to Army Radio, those remaining in custody could be offered the option of enlisting immediately in exchange for a suspended sentence. Those refusing could face trial and military imprisonment.
United Torah Judaism leader Rabbi Yaakov Asher alleged that the arrests were part of a politically motivated effort to intimidate ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, voters.
“For some time now, I have been warning about attempts to disrupt the election process” through “unnecessary arrests” intended to “instill fear and terror in the Haredi public,” Asher said.
He called on Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, to intervene, arguing that the arrests served political interests rather than the military.
Shas also accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of “blatant and unprecedented political interference in the election campaign,” claiming that her instructions had led to the arrests. The party said its faction chairman, Knesset member Yinon Azoulay, was working with senior military officials to secure the detainees’ release.
Earlier this month, Baharav-Miara instructed the military to resume arresting men who had failed to comply with enlistment orders, after the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that enforcement against Haredi draft refusers had not been active.
Netanyahu defended the importance of religious study in a Tuesday interview with the Kol Barama radio station, saying the arrests undermined efforts to negotiate Haredi enlistment arrangements.
“We must preserve the world of Torah study because it has preserved us,” he said, referring to Jewish religious scholarship. However, he added that exemptions should not cover everyone. “I have great respect for the world of Torah study, but anyone who isn’t studying should enlist.”
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Beyachad party, accused Netanyahu of prioritizing coalition politics over military obligations.
“The Bibi-Deri deal has been exposed, and now it’s official: draft evasion in exchange for power,” Bennett said, referring to Netanyahu and Shas leader Aryeh Deri.
The dispute over Haredi enlistment has intensified since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, as Israel has expanded military operations and faced pressure to increase troop numbers. Haredi leaders have traditionally opposed mandatory service, citing religious study as a central value and arguing that military frameworks could conflict with their community’s way of life.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli citizens. However, Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, and leading rabbis reached an informal “status quo” arrangement under which Haredi men studying in yeshivot, or religious seminaries, were largely exempted from service. At the time, only several hundred men were studying in yeshivot.
