A new directive issued by Israeli Police Commissioner Daniel Levy ordering officers to transfer yeshiva students who are classified as military draft dodgers to the military police has triggered fierce criticism within the chareidi community and raised concerns from officials inside the police force itself.

Under the updated instructions, any police officer who encounters a draft evader during a routine interaction must detain him, notify the military police, and wait for a representative to arrive. Police officials attempted to ease concerns by clarifying that if military police representatives fail to arrive within 30 minutes, the detainee must be released.

Despite those assurances, chareidi figures involved in the draft controversy view the move as a dramatic shift from the policy that had been in place until now and warn that it could carry far-reaching consequences.

Chareidi activists involved in the enlistment issue sharply criticized the decision, claiming it was implemented under pressure from Israel’s attorney general, even though police officials themselves understand the potential fallout of such enforcement.

“Even within the police, they know there is no real way to arrest yeshiva students without it turning within minutes into an explosive situation,” a senior chareidi source said.

Criticism has reportedly also been voiced privately within the police force. Officials warned that the new directive places rank-and-file officers directly in the middle of one of the country’s most sensitive public disputes, without any realistic ability to manage the repercussions on the ground.

According to those officials, there are growing fears that the policy could lead to confrontations with extremist factions, mass protests, and road blockages that would require large deployments of police manpower during an already tense security period.

Members of the chareidi community are also expressing concern that the move could seriously damage relations between the police and the chareidi public. One of the key reasons police had previously avoided transferring yeshiva students to military authorities, they say, was the understanding that such a policy could discourage chareidim from interacting with law enforcement altogether.

“The concern is that a yeshiva student who genuinely needs police assistance, even as an ordinary citizen, will simply avoid going to the police,” a police source said. “If a chareidi young man fears that any encounter with an officer could end with detention and transfer to the military police, then this becomes a much broader issue than just the draft debate.”

In an official statement, police said: “Following media inquiries regarding the issue of detaining draft evaders, we wish to clarify the directive of Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, which was issued earlier this month and reiterated today to all national district commanders: During a random encounter between a police officer and a draft evader, the officer will detain the individual, notify the military police, and wait with the detainee until the arrival of a military police representative, who is required to arrive within 30 minutes of the report. If no military police representative arrives, the draft evader will be released and issued a summons by the officer to report to the military police.”

{Matzav.com}