Israeli Government Declares Yeshiva Students Detention Freeze Law Unconstitutional Ahead of Supreme Court Hearing

The Israeli Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, submitted a sharp legal response to the Supreme Court on July 24, stating that Amendment 28 to the Security Service Law, which freezes detention and enforcement actions against yeshiva students, is unconstitutional and should be annulled. This submission precedes a hearing scheduled for July 28 before a nine-justice panel, addressing five consolidated petitions challenging the law.

Baharav-Miara argued that the law creates a discriminatory group immunity mechanism that violates the constitutional right to equality by exempting yeshiva students from military service enforcement. She highlighted the dual harm caused: increasing the burden on those serving in regular and reserve military service, especially after the extension of mandatory service to 32 months under Amendment 29, and establishing a discriminatory enforcement norm that freezes arrests only for those declaring yeshiva student status.

The Attorney General’s position is supported by strong opposition from the military leadership, including Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who warned that the law incentivizes draft evasion. The IDF emphasized the urgent security need for an additional 12,000 conscripts amid ongoing multi-front conflicts and noted that assigning the army the task of verifying declarations would undermine soldier trust and divert resources during wartime.

Baharav-Miara also pointed out serious procedural flaws in the legislation process, such as improper use of legislative continuity from an unrelated 2022 bill and the political replacement of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman, Yoav Galant. She concluded that the law fails constitutional limitation tests and urged the court to order its immediate and complete annulment.