MASS ARRESTS AT BEN GURION: 42 Chabad Bochurim Detained After Returning From 770, With Some Facing Military Prison
Forty-two Chabad yeshiva bochurim returning to Eretz Yisroel after spending a year learning at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights were detained by Israeli military police at Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday morning, in a major enforcement operation that has sparked outrage throughout the Chabad community and prompted intervention by senior rabbonim and government officials.
The bochurim, most of them approximately 19 or 20 years old, had just completed their year of kevutza, the longstanding Chabad program in which Israeli yeshiva students spend an extended period learning at the movement’s world headquarters in Brooklyn.
Their return home took an unexpected turn when military police, who had reportedly received advance information about the group’s arrival, were waiting at the airport to detain students whose military status had not been regularized.
Approximately 80 bochurim were aboard the flight from New York. Initial statements from Chabad representatives indicated that 25 students had been detained, but subsequent military reports placed the number at 42.
According to accounts from the scene, the bochurim were stopped at passport control, where their documents were examined and those identified as having unresolved military obligations were separated from the other passengers.
Some had their passports confiscated before being taken into military custody. Military authorities had arranged additional personnel and transportation in anticipation of the group’s arrival.
Families who had been waiting at the airport to welcome their sons home after more than a year abroad were left distressed as the bochurim were taken away without being permitted to reunite with their relatives.
The detained students were transported to the IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer for military proceedings, where they were offered the possibility of avoiding immediate imprisonment by agreeing to enlist.
According to an IDF statement issued later Tuesday, 27 of the 42 detained bochurim agreed before a military judge to enter military service. They were found fit for service, received suspended prison sentences and were permitted to return home pending the beginning of their enlistment process.
Another 13 students initially refused to agree to enlist and were sentenced to military imprisonment, according to the IDF’s account. Two additional bochurim, whose military authorities said had been evading service for more than 540 days, were transferred directly to military prison.
However, Chabad community reports subsequently indicated that intervention by askanim had secured the release of the 13 students who had initially refused enlistment, although they would still be required to appear before a military judge. According to those reports, two bochurim remained imprisoned.
The differing accounts reflect developments throughout the day as rabbonim, community representatives and government officials worked to resolve the situation.
The arrests have drawn particular attention because Chabad has historically maintained a separate understanding with Israeli military authorities regarding the enlistment of its yeshiva students.
Under the longstanding arrangement, bochurim were permitted to complete their yeshiva studies, including their year of kevutza in New York, before entering military service at a later stage.
Many Chabad chassidim subsequently enlisted in the IDF, and the arrangement was regarded within the community as an important accommodation allowing young men to complete their Torah studies before fulfilling military obligations.
However, changes to the legal framework governing yeshiva deferments disrupted the arrangement, leaving numerous Chabad bochurim without a clear mechanism for regularizing their military status.
Chabad representatives have reportedly submitted several proposals intended to restore an acceptable framework, but those efforts have not yet produced a new agreement.
In June, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz reportedly instructed military officials to develop an alternative arrangement after concerns emerged that eliminating the previous system could ultimately reduce enlistment among Chabad students.
The absence of a replacement has left returning bochurim vulnerable to detention, particularly when their unresolved military status is identified during passport inspections.
Following Tuesday’s arrests, the Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad issued a statement explaining that its members had been in contact with the relevant authorities even before the flight arrived.
“The members of the Beis Din are in direct contact with the various authorities through a special representative appointed for this purpose,” the statement said.
The rabbonim added that preparations had been made in coordination with the families and military officials in anticipation of possible difficulties when the students returned.
“The members of the Beis Din have been working in recent days, and continue working at this very hour, to ensure that the students receive humane treatment and, following the resolution of their status with the military authorities, are released as quickly as possible to their homes and families.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the arrests during an interview with Kol Barama radio Tuesday morning, describing the situation as unacceptable and warning that coercive measures could undermine efforts to resolve the chareidi draft controversy.
“We must preserve the world of Torah, because it is what preserved us,” Netanyahu declared.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu also sharply criticized the arrests, arguing that the enforcement operation would ultimately damage military recruitment rather than encourage it.
“The arrest of Chabad chassidim returning from a period of study in the United States was not intended to increase recruitment rates, but precisely the opposite,” Eliyahu said.
“Most Chabad chassidim enlist and share the burden. For years, they had a special enlistment track, until the judicial system cancelled it. Today’s arrests only harm recruitment and harm the charedim who do enlist.”
Eliyahu further alleged that senior legal officials had pressured the military to conduct arrests during the final week before Israel’s October 27 Knesset elections.
MK Meir Porush, who has been involved in efforts to resolve the status of Chabad yeshiva students, said he was working directly with military and defense officials following the detentions.
“I have worked in the past, and throughout the past year as well, to regulate the status of Chabad yeshiva bochurim. I am now in contact with officials in the IDF and Defense Ministry in an effort to assist the temimim who were arrested this morning at Ben Gurion Airport.”
The IDF defended its actions, maintaining that the bochurim were legally obligated to enlist and that military authorities were enforcing existing law.
“The Military Police routinely enforces the Defense Service Law, including at border crossings, in coordination with relevant authorities, including the Population and Immigration Authority,” the military said.
The IDF added that it would continue to enforce enlistment requirements equally and ensure compliance with the obligation to serve.
The arrests come amid an escalating confrontation over the military draft, with yeshiva bochurim increasingly facing detention when their unresolved status is discovered during encounters with police or border authorities.
The timing has intensified the controversy, coming exactly one week before Israel’s national elections and amid growing frustration within the chareidi community over the government’s failure to establish a lasting arrangement protecting full-time Torah learners.
For Chabad families, the immediate concern remains the fate of the bochurim still facing military proceedings and the possibility of further arrests as additional students return to Eretz Yisroel from their year of learning in Crown Heights.
{Matzav.com}
