A chareidi initiative designed to provide financial support to yeshiva bochurim imprisoned over their military draft status has made its first major payout, with a draft evader who spent 12 days in military prison receiving 12,000 shekels in cash.

The payment was revealed Tuesday night by Channel 13, which aired footage showing Avraham Engel receiving the money through the initiative, known as “Kele Elef” — literally, “Prison 1,000.”

The concept is straightforward: an eligible chareidi draft evader who is imprisoned by the military receives 1,000 shekels for each day he spends behind bars.

The initiative was launched approximately a month ago amid the growing wave of arrests of yeshiva bochurim over their draft status. Channel 13 reported that nearly 10,000 people have already joined the program, with participants contributing relatively small amounts that are pooled to fund payments to those who are imprisoned.

Engel, who spent 12 days in military prison, became a prominent example of the program in action when he was handed 12,000 shekels in cash following his release.

The initiative has received the backing of leading rabbonim, including Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, as well as Rav Yitzchak Yosef.

Organizers have described the program as a financial safety net intended to lessen the burden on yeshiva bochurim and their families when they are imprisoned because of their refusal to enlist.

Sinai Greenboim, a member of the initiative’s leadership, previously explained that the model relies on a large pool of participants, each contributing a small amount when arrests occur. He said the arrangement is designed to spread the financial burden across thousands of people rather than requiring large donations from individual contributors.

Greenboim has also rejected claims that the initiative is intended to encourage people to violate the law, saying, “We are not calling on people to break the law.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that one of the program’s objectives is to reduce the deterrent effect of military imprisonment by providing financial protection to those who are jailed.

The initiative’s rules reportedly contain restrictions intended to prevent participants from deliberately seeking arrest in order to collect money. According to Greenboim, eligibility is intended for someone who is arrested without deliberately bringing about his own detention and who had no reasonable opportunity to avoid it.

As an example, someone who intentionally turns himself in or knowingly travels to Ben Gurion Airport despite expecting to be arrested may not necessarily qualify for the payment.

The program has nevertheless drawn fierce criticism from political figures who argue that payments of 1,000 shekels per day effectively transform military imprisonment from a punishment into a financially rewarding experience.

Yashar! with Eisenkot issued a lengthy statement accusing the government and chareidi political establishment of rewarding those who do not serve while soldiers are risking their lives.

“We heard the partners of the draft-dodging government attacking those who serve, and tonight it was revealed that someone who evades service and goes to prison also receives a financial prize of thousands of shekels. This is not an isolated case. It is a worldview that has turned draft evasion into an ideology and those who serve into suckers — and it receives political backing from the government.

“While the best of our sons and daughters serve, fight and risk their lives, we cannot accept a reality in which someone who refuses to serve is rewarded for it. And in the Netanyahu government — silence. No one condemns it, no one stands alongside IDF soldiers and servicemembers, everything is for the sake of the chair. The coming elections are between Netanyahu’s non-Zionist draft-dodging government and Eisenkot’s Zionist conscription government. We will establish a Zionist government in which everyone shares the burden and everyone serves the state. We pledge: conscription and service for all,” the party said.

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Beyachad party, also attacked the program following the Channel 13 report.

“Shame and disgrace. This Deri-Goldknopf-Bibi-Smotrich government transfers 1,000 shekels a day to a chareidi draft evader in prison. We will dry them out, shut down all their pipelines and dismantle this chareidi state,” Bennett said.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman similarly condemned the payments.

“This madness must stop. The chareidi community cannot turn draft evaders into heroes — heroes who receive the support of the rabbis and the political establishment and receive tens of thousands of shekels in cash, which is already a violation of the law. We will put an end to it. With us, you will not receive a single shekel. All the money we take from the draft evaders will be transferred to the soldiers!” Liberman said.

{Matzav.com}