Israeli Supreme Court Reviews Law Suspending Enforcement Against Draft-Dodging Yeshiva Students

The Israeli Supreme Court convened a nine-justice panel led by Deputy President Noam Sohlberg on Tuesday to hear five petitions challenging Amendment 28 to the Security Service Law. This amendment temporarily freezes arrest and enforcement procedures against yeshiva students who are subject to military conscription. Petitioners including the Israel Free Movement, Knesset members Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman, the Movement for Quality Government, and the Brothers and Sisters in Arms organization argue that the amendment is flawed due to procedural defects in its legislation and violates the constitutional right to equality, failing legal tests for limitation clauses.

The hearing involves a broad bench comprising Justices Daphne Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Wilner, Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein, Gila Kanfi-Steinitz, Yechiel Kasher, and Ruth Ronen. The court is examining whether to annul the amendment, which currently suspends enforcement actions against draft-evading yeshiva students, a contentious issue in Israeli society and politics. The decision will have significant implications for the ongoing debate over military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.