Ultra-Orthodox parties are demanding fast-track legislation to stop the arrests of draft evaders from their community, but senior legal sources say the plan would not meet basic legal standards and is unlikely to survive a High Court challenge. According to a report on Wednesday on Reshet Bet, these sources view the current initiative as having no real legal viability under any construction.
The political push follows a meeting on Tuesday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shas leader Aryeh Deri, and Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni. Deri and Gafni told Netanyahu they want immediate legislation to end Military Police arrests of ultra-Orthodox youth, while also accelerating the proposed "Basic Law: Torah Study." Netanyahu, for his part, told them he is fully committed to advancing both laws quickly through parliament.
To bypass the disputes surrounding the original draft bill, the coalition is reportedly considering stripping the law of all its contentious clauses and leaving only one provision, the one ordering the release of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders and halting arrests. The bill is expected to be presented as a temporary order.
However, the plan is already meeting strong resistance. Knesset legal adviser Adv. Shgitzh Apiq has made clear in private conversations that she will oppose the move on substantive legal grounds. Coalition officials believe the Knesset legal counsel will refuse to back the proposal, leaving it exposed in the High Court and risking a rapid annulment of the law, along with a deeper coalition crisis.
