Netanyahu: Arrest Law will not be reinstated
PM Netanyahu said the law freezing draft evader arrests failed to boost haredi enlistment, pledging new legislation after the elections: 'Those who do not study Torah will enlist - or go to prison.'
Assessment
Netanyahu is signaling a hardline shift on haredi enlistment, publicly abandoning the failed arrest freeze and promising post-election legislation that would force non-studying haredi men into military service or prison. This directly challenges the status quo that has long exempted full-time yeshiva students. The political stakes are high: the pledge could fracture his current coalition partners who represent haredi interests, while appealing to secular voters ahead of elections. Watch for immediate reactions from haredi party leaders and whether this becomes a central campaign issue.