High Court Suspends New Law Exempting Ultra-Orthodox From Military Service

The High Court of Justice issued an injunction on Thursday blocking implementation of a law that grants ultra-orthodox believers temporary exemption from military service. The law passed the Knesset on Tuesday by a 58-54 vote and immediately suspended the capacity of law enforcement and military authorities to arrest or prosecute ultra-orthodox draft dodgers.

Justice Ofer Grosskopf wrote that the law ran contrary to the High Court’s recent jurisprudence regarding the conscription of ultra-orthodox Jews.

“Given this court’s longstanding case law on the issue of drafting yeshiva students, the significance of freezing arrest, investigation and enforcement proceedings only with respect to certain segments of the population, and the serious arguments raised by the petitioners regarding the law’s validity, a temporary order is granted suspending the law’s entry into force until a further decision is made,” Grosskopf stated.

The court had ruled in 2024 that the government lacked a constitutional basis for continued exemptions of Haredim from military service. Housing Minister and United Torah Judaism lawmaker Meir Porush called the court’s intervention “illegal” and stated that any police officer or soldier who arrests Torah scholars is acting unlawfully.

Porush had previously warned that any High Court decision overturning the law would have “no legal validity” and that failure to abide by the bill would lead to civil rebellion on a scale never before seen. Aryeh Deri, chairman of the Shas party, said the temporary pause on enforcement was intended to provide breathing room for broader discussion on ultra-orthodox objectors.