Supreme Court Strikes Down Law Shielding Haredi Draft Dodgers

Israel's High Court of Justice has unanimously ruled to cancel an amendment to the Security Service Law that effectively froze the arrest of Haredi yeshiva students who evade military conscription, while other draft dodgers faced arrest. The court found the amendment, titled 'Freezing of Arrest, Investigation, or Enforcement Proceedings Against a Person Designated for Security Service Who is a Yeshiva Student, A Temporary Order,' to be unconstitutional due to a fundamental flaw in its legislative process.

According to the ruling, the amendment significantly deviated from the original bill that passed its first reading in the Knesset, violating Knesset rules. The court stated that, in effect, the amendment was treated as if it had not passed its first reading, rendering its legislative procedure fundamentally flawed and necessitating its cancellation.

Furthermore, in a separate decision by eight of the nine justices, the court determined that the amendment was unconstitutional in substance as well. It was found to severely infringe upon the core constitutional right to equality, failing to meet the conditions required by the limitation clause, which allows for restrictions on rights only under specific, justifiable circumstances.