Legal Advisor Warns Yeshiva Exemption Bill Violates Equality and Constitution

Miri Frenkel Shor, the legal advisor to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has strongly opposed the proposed bill exempting yeshiva students from arrest related to military service evasion. She described the bill as a clear exemption for a specific population group from complying with the Security Service Law without accompanying measures to ensure or encourage IDF enlistment. Frenkel Shor warned that the bill grants sectoral immunity and legitimizes selective enforcement, undermining the rule of law and violating constitutional equality principles, calling it "unlawful discrimination."

The legal opinion was circulated ahead of the committee's votes on the bill's second and third readings. Such a direct constitutional critique from a Knesset legal advisor is rare and signals a high likelihood of the bill being struck down by Israel's Supreme Court. The bill, linked to the recently approved Basic Law: Torah Study, would exempt yeshiva students, including past and future draft evaders, from arrest until the end of November, with a supervisory mechanism to verify their study status. Although time-limited, the law's wording allows for prolonged application.

Frenkel Shor criticized the bill's narrow focus on recognizing the "importance of Torah study" without aiming for equal military service obligations. She emphasized that the bill creates a special mechanism to freeze arrests of yeshiva students for draft evasion, granting them immunity from criminal sanctions that remain in place for the general public. She cited Supreme Court rulings forbidding discrimination in military service and condemned the bill for institutionalizing selective enforcement that severely harms the rule of law and equality before the law.

The legal advisor also noted that evasion offenses are considered especially grave during wartime, equating absence with a serious breach of national defense values. She highlighted that the exemption would apply even if a yeshiva student works alongside their studies. Due to provisions extending temporary laws during election periods, the exemption could effectively last until January 27, 2027, spanning about seven months after the elections.

Frenkel Shor reiterated her earlier concern that the bill might serve as a foundation for a future "mini draft law" addressing the status of yeshiva students both immediately and in the long term, potentially reshaping military service policies for this group.