Legal Advisor Calls Yeshiva Students' Arrest Exemption a 'Mini Conscription Law'

Miri Frenkel-Shur, the legal advisor to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, issued an opinion stating that the proposed law exempting yeshiva students from arrests does not merely seek a temporary freeze on arrests but aims to create a bypass mechanism that eliminates the need for comprehensive legislation regulating yeshiva students' status. She circulated this legal opinion ahead of the committee's discussions on the bill, which is scheduled for today.

The bill leverages the draft law on draft evasion to avoid a first reading and intends to grant yeshiva students a three-month exemption from arrests. However, it effectively establishes a mechanism that could operate indefinitely. This proposal is part of a package including a Basic Law on Torah Study, currently promoted in the Knesset Committee, forming part of a deal to secure ultra-Orthodox parties' support for coalition legislation, such as the Attorney General Split Law.

Frenkel-Shur described the bill as a "mini conscription law," whose main purpose is to regulate the status of yeshiva students both immediately and in the long term. This intent is reflected in the proposed purpose clause, which recognizes the importance of Torah study and establishes a special temporary arrangement for yeshiva students. According to Frenkel-Shur, the arrangement legitimizes future draft dodgers to disobey military service laws and legal orders, granting them immunity from criminal proceedings and legal protection in advance.