An urgent petition has been filed with Israel’s High Court of Justice to halt the “Apartment at a Discount” housing lottery after a new rule took effect last month requiring military status to be settled as a condition for participation. The petition was submitted by attorney Yehuda Abels on behalf of the organization Emet Le’Yaakov in Israel and several families barred from the draw.
The petitioners are asking for an interim order to freeze the lottery, which ended last night, and to extend the registration deadline. Their challenge targets a decision by the Israel Land Council stating that an eligible citizen recorded by the IDF as draft-eligible and who has not resolved that status cannot enter the government housing program.
They argue that the policy was enforced immediately against thousands of families who already held valid eligibility certificates issued months earlier, after they paid fees and completed all required procedures. According to the petition, those families relied on the certificates when planning their finances, with some avoiding purchases on the open market and continuing to pay rent in the expectation of taking part in future lotteries.
The filing also alleges administrative defects. It says the block is triggered automatically through data matching with IDF systems, without a reasoned notice, a chance to be heard, or an opportunity to prove that records are wrong. The petitioners further contend that the new regulation was inserted into a section dealing with new eligibility certificates, so it should not apply to certificates issued earlier.
The petition notes that the legal adviser to the Housing and Construction Ministry had previously warned against the move. The petitioners also argue that the state does not deny housing rights even to people convicted of serious crimes, so there is no justification for stripping families of eligibility over military-status issues. They claim the decision turns a program meant to help families without homes into “a political instrument of punishment.”
