Israel's High Court Strikes Down Law Exempting Ultra-Orthodox Draft Dodgers

Israel's Supreme Court unanimously annulled an amendment to the Security Service Law that had frozen enforcement actions against ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students evading mandatory military service. The decision, rendered by an expanded panel of nine justices, focused on the legislative process itself.

In the lead opinion, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, with the agreement of the other justices, determined that the amendment fundamentally deviated from the original bill's subject matter approved in its first reading, violating Knesset regulations. The justices concluded that the deviation was so substantial it undermined the entire legislative procedure, effectively rendering the amendment a law that had not passed its first reading.

Five petitions had been filed against Amendment No. 28, enacted on July 14, 2026, which had halted all enforcement against ultra-Orthodox individuals obligated to enlist but not reporting for service. However, the court's review extended beyond procedural flaws.

A majority of eight justices also ruled the amendment unconstitutional on substantive grounds. They asserted that freezing enforcement against these draft evaders severely infringes upon the core constitutional right to equality, and the conditions required to justify such an infringement were not met. Justice David Mintz was the sole judge who did not join the ruling on the amendment's unconstitutionality but still concurred that the procedural defect was sufficient cause for its cancellation.