The Israeli Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, on Sunday ordered the government to take a series of measures against ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, in response to petitions accusing the state of contempt of court for failing to enforce conscription laws.
In an unusual move, the five-judge panel led by Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg set out a series of measures government bodies must adopt following the coalition’s failure to regulate the Haredi draft exemption through legislation, Channel 12 News reported.
“In the absence of concrete measures indicating an intention to act to enforce the duty of conscription ... there is no choice but to order operational steps, which are nothing more than the direct implementation of the judgment,” the justices wrote.
Among other measures, the court ordered the Israel Land Council to convene within 21 days to decide how to condition housing discounts on applicants’ draft status. It also told the Ministry of Labor to decide within 21 days how to amend eligibility criteria for subsidized daycare and after-school programs so that compliance with the draft law becomes a prerequisite.
In addition, Israel’s finance and transport ministers were given 35 days to consider canceling discounts on public transportation for ultra-Orthodox men who have not regularized their status with the Israel Defense Forces.
The justices also ruled that those dodging conscription should be denied municipal tax discounts. Government ministries were ordered to report on their compliance to the court by June 1.
In November, the High Court unanimously ordered the state to formulate sanctions to enforce IDF conscription, stressing that government benefits should not be granted to those evading service.
Sunday’s enforcement ruling included sharp criticism of the Israel Police for failing to assist the military in arresting draft evaders.
“The social message arising from the police refraining from acting specifically against those who seek to thwart enforcement through widespread disturbances is that the offender benefits, a message that cannot be accepted,” the judges wrote, the Kan News public broadcaster reported.
Haredi political leaders condemned the latest decision in the case. Knesset member Yitzhak Goldknopf, whose United Torah Judaism Party has long been a key partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called on the premier to “immediately” pass a law regulating the ultra-Orthodox draft.
“This is a ruling over which a black flag flies,” Goldknopf told local media. “It is a serious crossing of a red line and a direct blow to the heart of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel. No sanctions will silence the voice of Torah.”
MK Moshe Gafni, whose Degel HaTorah faction is part of Goldknopf’s party, charged that Israel was “gradually losing, step by step, its identity as a Jewish and democratic state.
“The High Court is acting consistently and systematically to harm Torah scholars and diminish their place in the state. We will not lend a hand to this,” he vowed. “Torah scholars are the foundation of our existence as a people.”
Israel’s coalition government late last month moved to pass the 2026 state budget without the highly debated draft exemption law, which was temporarily shelved.
“We are now putting aside controversial issues that are not suitable for wartime,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, citing both the legislation that would exempt haredi yeshivah students from military service as well as several unspecified proposed reforms.
The enlistment bill that was under consideration reflects Netanyahu’s attempt to forge a compromise with his Haredi political partners.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox sector generally considers national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel and the ensuing war have heightened demands by the general public that Haredim contribute to the nation’s defense.
Between 63,000 and 66,000 young Haredi men studying in yeshivahs are legally required to serve. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, more than 1,000 haredim have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number have volunteered for civilian national service.
