A Chabad hasid, Rabbi Schneur Kanelsky, has been arrested and jailed by the IDF for 35 days for dodging the draft. Kanelsky is reusing to eat IDF prison food, claiming it is not kosher.
The late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Chabad Hasid Arrested For Draft Dodging, Imprisoned
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A Chabad hasid, Rabbi Schneur Kanelsky, has been arrested and jailed by the IDF for draft dodging, the Chabad news website Shturem reported.
Kanelsky, an Israeli, lives in Russia but allegedly returned to Israel to enlist in the IDF.
"On 11 Iyar [Sunday, May 11] my son came from Russia to enlist and he was arrested for draft dodging. After discussions [with] the defense and the prosecution, he was sentenced to 35 days in prison. The prison protocol written by the judge requested to leave him in [IDF] Prison 4, where kosher food is served. For an unknown reason he was transferred to [IDF] Prison 6, where he is being nourished by bread and water exclusively,” Rabbi Avraham Kanelsky, Schneur Kanelsky’s father reportedly said.
Other haredi draft dodgers have been imprisoned in IDF Prison 6 and had kosher food there, and all IDF kitchens are kosher.
It is possible Kanelsky is insisting on having special 'super kosher' glatt kosher mehadrin meals and is treating the regular kosher meals given to IDF soldiers as non-kosher.
Avraham Kanelsky has reportedly spoken with high-ranking IDF officials about his son’s alleged lack of kosher food, and will reportedly also be asking members of Knesset to help get his son proper kosher meals.
Israelis who leave the country without first getting a draft exemption or postponement are considered to be AWOL if they do not report to an IDF induction center when summoned. This is a longstanding fact that is very well known in the country and among draft-age men.
Other Chabad hasidim have previously been arrested for draft dodging after leaving Israel without first securing deferment or an exemption. Months or even years later, they returned to Israel and were arrested for dodging the draft.
[Hat Tip: The Lion.]