Young ultra-Orthodox (haredi) men of enlistment age must not be allowed to go to Uman or other pilgrimage sites outside the country for Rosh Hashanah, Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon said in a statement on Friday.
Limon further noted that the government does not have the authority to create a plan that would interfere with law enforcement activities, specifically regarding permitting draft dodgers to leave the country.
This comes following reports that the government will allow haredi draft dodgers to fly to Uman and other destinations for annual pilgrimages ahead of the upcoming High Holy Days, which begin on September 22.
In a statement written to two attorneys representing petitioners to the High Court of Justice regarding the matter, Limon wrote that the subject of draft dodgers going to Uman had not yet been brought to the Attorney-General’s Office, and that they were unaware of the particulars of the agreement.
However, “a plan with the purpose of avoiding exercising law enforcement against draftees who do not enlist and who violate their obligations under the Security Service Law… is contrary to the law,” the deputy A-G wrote. “Such avoidance contradicts the state’s obligation to enforce the draft in an equitable manner.”
Limon also wrote that a plan was presented in a series of meetings with the attorney-general that would see the IDF, military police, border control officials, and the Population and Immigration Authority be prepared to enforce the draft against draftees seeking to leave the country for the High Holy Days.
Breslov hassidim criticize deputy attorney-general statement
Breslov Union chairman Rabbi Natan Ben-Nun was critical of the statement and said he hopes a solution will be found to allow yeshiva students to still visit Uman.
“We regret that the attorney-general found the time to prevent Breslov hassidim from fulfilling their religious obligation to come to Uman for Rosh Hashanah,” Ben-Nun said, haredi media outlet JDN reported.
“Rabbi Nachman,” the spiritual founder of Breslov hassidim whose grave in Uman is the main pilgrimage site in the city, “said that Rosh Hashanah surpasses everything, and we are prepared in Uman for the arrival of the rabbis. We hope that a solution will be found soon so that yeshiva students will also be able to fly to Uman without fear of departure delays or threats of arrest.”
This comes after Breslov rabbis said that young hassidim should not come to Uman this year in order to avoid being jailed and subsequently conscripted, JDN reported.
The grassroots organization Israel Hofsheet (Be Free Israel), however, praised the statement.
“Those who evade their service will not travel to Uman, nor to any other destination, while tens of thousands of Israelis are called upon to defend our home,” the organization said. “We will not allow one public to serve, and another to be served. The time for equality is here.”