Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down Law Halting Draft Evasion Arrests

Israel's Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, unanimously nullified an amendment to the Security Service Law that had halted enforcement actions against ultra-Orthodox men evading military conscription. The decision was made by an expanded panel of nine justices following five petitions against the amendment, which was enacted in July and added a temporary provision freezing arrests, investigations, and enforcement for yeshiva students designated for service who did not report.

The court ruled that the amendment suffered from a fundamental flaw in the legislative process, as it significantly deviated from the original bill that passed its first reading. This procedural defect, described as a "root flaw," was sufficient on its own to invalidate the law. All justices agreed on this point, leading to the unanimous decision.

Furthermore, eight of the nine justices determined the amendment to be unconstitutional on substantive grounds. The majority opinion stated that the law severely infringed upon the core constitutional right to equality and did not meet the requirements of the "limitation clause," which allows for the restriction of rights only under specific, justified conditions. Justice David Mintz dissented on the constitutional issue but concurred with the majority regarding the procedural flaw.

The justices who comprised the panel were Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, and Justices Daphne Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Vilaner, Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein, Gila Kenfy-Steinholtz, Yehiel Kasher, and Ruth Ronen. The court issued an absolute order canceling the amendment.