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 Supreme Court hearing scheduled for July 28, where nine justices will review five consolidated petitions challenging the law.

Baharav-Miara argued that the law creates a discriminatory group immunity mechanism, violating the constitutional right to equality by exempting yeshiva students from detention while increasing the burden on other conscripts, especially following the extension of mandatory service to 32 months under Amendment 29. She emphasized that this results in unequal criminal law enforcement and unfairly shifts the military service load.

The Attorney General's position aligns with strong opposition from the military leadership, including Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who warned that the law incentivizes draft evasion. The IDF highlighted the urgent need for an additional 12,000 conscripts due to multi-front conflicts and expressed concern that the law's requirement for the military to verify yeshiva student declarations would undermine soldier trust and divert resources during wartime.

Baharav-Miara also pointed to serious procedural flaws in the law's enactment, such as improper use of legislative continuity from an unrelated 2022 bill and the politically motivated replacement of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman, Yoav Galant. She concluded that the law fails constitutional limitation tests and urged the Supreme Court to order its immediate and complete repeal.