Dozens of Chabad Hasidim Detained at Ben-Gurion Airport for Draft Evasion

Around 50 Hasidim returning from New York were detained at Ben-Gurion Airport on draft evasion charges.

Dozens of Chabad Hasidim, roughly 50 people, were detained today at Ben-Gurion Airport upon landing on a flight from the United States after being designated as military draft evaders, Channel 7 and The Jerusalem Post reported. According to Channel 7, the Hasidim were returning to Israel following a year of study at the movement's institutions in the United States.

According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, the IDF had advance knowledge of the youths' arrival time. Security authorities confiscated the passports of several individuals and detained a large number of deserters for further processing. Further details regarding ongoing legal proceedings have not yet been released.