Defense Minister Katz asks Knesset to freeze yeshiva-student arrests for three months

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs appealed in writing on Sunday to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth to advance a temporary three-month order halting arrests of yeshiva students who have not reported for the draft. The letter cited a 'real concern' that continued enforcement could rupture relations with the Haredi community. The freeze would apply only to confirmed full-time Torah students under supervision and is being pitched as a stopgap while the coalition works to advance the Haredi enlistment framework before the pre-election recess.