For most yeshivah students, the travel ban is a nuisance at most. But for those whose extended families live abroad, the impact is significant

Now that every Israeli yeshivah student  who hasn’t reported to the draft office is banned from leaving the country, will Anglo-born bochurim be able to see their families any time soon?

AS soon as it became clear that the government would not ratify legislation that would protect the status of Torah learners, followed by United Torah Judaism and Shas quitting the coalition, the IDF didn’t waste any time last week sending out another 54,000 draft notices to bnei yeshivah in addition to the 24,000 notices sent out over the last year. For the first time in the history of the Jewish State, the IDF is making a sweeping draft of yeshivah students who are clearly recognized as dedicated Torah scholars.

What this means in broad terms is that — with no yeshivah deferrals in place — learning in yeshivah is now illegal, and every learner between the ages of 18 and 26 who remains in yeshivah is legally classified as a criminal. While a first call-up (tzav rishon) doesn’t mean an automatic or immediate induction to the IDF (it could take another year for follow-up, he could have a medical discharge, a low profile, or another reason for not being inducted), yeshivah leaders are not playing along. As long as no legislation is in place to protect the olam haTorah, bochurim have been instructed by their roshei yeshivah to ignore even the initial summons.

But it doesn’t only mean that every yeshivah bochur or young avreich in Eretz Yisrael is a criminal in theory: Personal sanctions have already been put in place, including threat of arrest beginning within six weeks, disqualification from academic scholarships, loss of tax credit points and day care discounts, exclusion from various vocational and employment benefits, suspension or denial of driver’s licenses and a ban on leaving the country.

(If a young man shows up to present himself at the draft office, those sanctions get cancelled, but so far, roshei yeshivah across the board have declared that until legislation clears up the status of thousands of full-time learners, there will be no appearing at the draft office, and no cooperation. They’ve essentially cut off from the IDF.)

For most yeshivah students, the travel ban is a nuisance at most. But for those whose extended families live abroad, the impact is significant.

“There are many Anglo families who made aliyah and now have sons in yeshivah who are Israeli citizens, and they’re in a real bind,” says Rabbi Paysach Freedman, founder and CEO of Chaim V’Chessed. “These families are closely connected to relatives abroad — they travel for Yamim Tovim, vacations or family simchahs, and now their sons simply can’t. It’s important to stress that these bochurim are in the same boat as all other Israelis, but their family ties overseas make their situation unique. An Israeli wanting to travel to visit kevarim in Europe isn’t the same as missing out on seeing your grandparents.”

The issue extends beyond Israeli residents. Even the children of Israeli citizens living abroad can be affected. That’s because according to Israeli law, any child of an Israeli citizen is also Israeli, even if the parents live abroad, and even if that citizen was just a baby when the parents left.

Those “children of emigrants,” or bnei mehagrim, might be sons and daughter of — to use the following illustrative example — an American mother who was just a baby herself when her parents, who were either Israeli or had themselves made aliyah as a young couple, returned to the US. This little girl, who was born in Israel, grew up in the US, got married, raised a family, say, in Lakewood, and her son is now learning in yeshivah in Jerusalem. He, too, is considered Israeli. (The mother’s siblings, who were born in America, don’t have that status and their children are not Israeli.)

Once they reach draft age, these children must regulate their status in order to study in Israel. They can apply for “child of emigrants” status through their local Israeli consulate, provided they or their parents left Israel before age 16.

“This demographic applies to between two and three thousand students a year, about fifteen percent of students from abroad studying in yeshivos,” says Rabbi Nechemya Malinowitz, director of the Igud Yeshivos and Seminaries for Bnei Chul, which manages government bureaucracy and assistance for this population group, especially for those not automatically eligible for student visas and those who require army deferrals.

Rabbi Malinowitz says that except for very minor changes in certain procedures, for bnei mehagrim, children of Israeli citizens living abroad, nothing has really changed regarding a draft exemption as a foreign student. They’re not getting draft notices, but that’s dependent on one important condition: that they take care of their status and the accompanying red tape.

“What happened was that over the last many years, these bochurim weren’t so careful to deal with the bureaucracy over their status as bnei mehagrim, because they figured that in the worst case, they’d get a deferral or exemption along with every other Israeli yeshivah bochur,” Rabbi Malinowitz explains. “But now that there’s no such thing as an exemption for a yeshivah bochur, it’s extremely important for them to take care of everything before they arrive, because with the new High Court ruling, there’s no such thing as a yeshivah student anymore. And then he’s stuck like every other Israeli — he can’t leave the country, not even to go back to visit his parents. He’s considered an arik, a mishtamet, a draft dodger.”

He does have a little more wiggle room than his Israeli colleagues, though, in that while the army has now sent out draft notices to everyone up to age 26, a ben mehagrim is exempt from age 22 — as long as he was careful to follow the rules and not to lose his status.

To help these bochurim deal with the bureaucracy, Rabbi Malinowitz is working together with the army to expedite a system in which bochurim will be notified about where they’re up to, what they still have to do, and if there are any changes in current regulations — for example, how many days they have to be out of the country.

Another issue concerning this demographic is that in order to avoid the draft, they have to be learning in an approved yeshivah, and most of the American yeshivos, while recognized by the Ministry of Education, are not recognized by the army. A workaround has been to affiliate with a recognized Israeli yeshivah.

“I’m in constant touch with the army and we’re working to change it,” Rabbi Malinowitz says. “Meanwhile, when a ben mehagrim goes to one of these yeshivos, they’re in touch with me — the yeshivos know how to handle it. But again, all this only helps when he takes care of his status. I deal with dozens of boys a week, trying to straighten things out for them. So I have one message for them:

“Please, make sure you’re on top of your game.”

Rabbi Malinowitz says that in spite of all the commotion over the draft, bochurim who are not Israeli citizens, both local and from abroad, have nothing to worry about and can continue learning in yeshivah without interference.

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ccording to Rabbi Betzalel Berman, director of public inquiries at the Vaad Hayeshivos, the army’s stance is that it does not delay or restrict travel for anyone who complies with the law. Those who reported to the draft office and began the enlistment process are not restricted. But those who, following rabbinic instruction, did not report, are now in conflict with the military system; they’re prevented from leaving the country, and are legally considered criminals.

What happens in an urgent case where someone needs to travel?

“The situation is extremely difficult,” says Rabbi Berman. “If a yeshivah student is under a travel ban, there’s no way to receive permission to leave the country unless it’s an immediate humanitarian emergency — such as a life-saving medical procedure abroad. Even then, permission is given with conditions.”

In such situations, the IDF notifies the Vaad Hayeshivos that the student must report to the draft office that very day, and by evening may be granted travel permission. Without reporting, there is absolutely no way to leave the country.

Who currently faces travel restrictions? “Everyone who’s been sent a draft notice and hasn’t reported,” Rabbi Berman says. “Even if the notice hasn’t reached them by mail, once it’s logged in the IDF system, they’re considered summoned.”

The draft process has several stages, Rabbi Berman explains. “First comes the initial draft notice, sent to every male from age sixteen and a half. If he doesn’t report by the set date, more notices are issued. After several unanswered notices, he receives a Tzav 12, which marks the individual as noncompliant with the enlistment process.”

The army’s tracking is based on its internal system, and just as with the original notice, it’s possible for someone to have already been issued a Tzav 12 in the system, even if he hasn’t received it.

In the past year, over 100 yeshivah students were detained — not only at airports attempting to leave, but even at the draft office, where they mistakenly thought showing up might earn them a deferral. Most were held for two to three days.

As more yeshivah students realize they are now classified as draft evaders, can the situation be reversed?

“It’s not up to the army,” Rabbi Berman clarifies. “They’re simply executing policy — it has to be resolved at the political level.”

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hile much attention regarding the travel ban has focused on families with relatives overseas, other groups are affected, too, such as Breslover chassidim, who traditionally travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. Closer to Tishrei, many will likely try to exit the country or seek exemptions — some are already crowding draft offices seeking medical exams, which can buy them time of up to a year if they request to push off their induction date, until the next stage of the draft process begins. Until then, they hope something drastic will change.

The IDF announced this week that it will increase enforcement at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of the travel period to Uman before Rosh Hashanah. The enforcement plan, formulated by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, includes setting up roadblocks, proactive enforcement based on intelligence, and the opening of dedicated detention facilities.

While the current ruling would make it extremely difficult — if not impossible — for bochurim to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, it would also make it impossible for Chabad bochurim to travel to Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn for Tishrei, even though Chabad has always had a separate understanding with the IDF, as Chabad leaders have worked with the IDF to create tailored enlistment tracks. With the new law, though, those arrangements will be of little help.

A statement released by the IDF acknowledged the growing unrest but maintained that it is acting “in accordance with the law and the directives of the political echelon.” Yet it admits that it isn’t ready to recruit so many people in such a short a time frame. It simply doesn’t have the resources, even if every yeshivah student enlisted voluntarily. Shortly after the October 7 massacre, more than 4,000 chareidim over the age of 26 answered the call to enlist into the abridged “Shlav B” service after which they’re drafted into the reserves. According to the IDF, only 880 of them were considered “relevant for conscription,” of whom only 600 were recruited.

— Rachel Ginsberg contributed to this report. 

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1073)