Shas Council Warns Supreme Court: Targeting Yeshiva Students Harms National Security

The Council of Torah Sages of the Shas party submitted a statement to Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday ahead of a hearing on petitions challenging the law preventing the arrest of yeshiva students who refuse military service. The council clarified that their letter does not recognize the court's authority over the matter but aims to voice the Torah's stance amid what they call ongoing persecution of its students. They emphasized that conscripting "Torah students whose faith is their Torah" is forbidden by Jewish law and that these students bear a spiritual burden for Israel's security. The council argued that harming Torah learners is not only an attack on religious study but also a direct threat to Israel's spiritual and existential security.

Earlier the same day, the Supreme Court convened a nine-justice panel to hear petitions against the law freezing arrests of draft-dodging ultra-Orthodox men. The government did not send a lawyer to represent its position against the petitioners, who included Israel Free, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, the Movement for Quality Government, and Brothers in Arms. The panel was led by Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg.

Attorney Yitzhak Bart, representing the Knesset legal advisor, argued that the legislative process for the law violated Knesset rules because it introduced a new subject and did not meet the required high standards. Justice Sohlberg requested clarification on the criteria for defining a new subject under Knesset regulations. Bart explained that the original bill addressed integrating yeshiva students into military or national service, while the enacted arrangement was fundamentally different. When pressed if this meant the law should be invalidated, Bart replied, "Apparently there is no choice."