Israeli Supreme Court Poised to Strike Down Yeshiva Students' Arrest Exemption Law

The Israeli Supreme Court (High Court of Justice) is widely expected to invalidate the recently passed law exempting yeshiva students from arrest. The law is considered so legally flawed that the government did not even request separate legal representation for it during the hearing. Consequently, there was no substantive dispute between the petitioners and respondents, with the state prosecution department acknowledging the law’s procedural defects and effectively conceding it is not a valid law.

The court issued an interim injunction replacing a temporary order, preventing the law’s implementation and allowing continued arrests of yeshiva students. Notably, the Knesset’s legal advisor representative also admitted under judicial pressure that the law’s legislative process violated the Basic Law: The Knesset and its rules, making its invalidation inevitable. The judges allocated only ten minutes per participant, signaling the absence of any real legal controversy.

The main question now is how quickly the court will issue a final ruling to annul the law. Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, who often presides over draft-dodging cases, promised an expedited decision. The law was so unpopular that even Likud leaders distanced themselves from it: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided the vote, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana dodged managing the plenary debate, and even Likud MK Tali Gottlieb did not attend the court hearing.

This law was a political concession by Likud to Shas leader Aryeh Deri to secure passage of other coalition bills. Deri knew the law would not prevent arrests but sought to claim he made an extraordinary effort to stop them and shift blame for its invalidation to the court and legal advisors. Shas took responsibility for the government’s tactic of not appearing at the hearing.

The ruling means arrests of yeshiva students will continue throughout the election campaign. It also raises questions about the fate of another coalition law, the Basic Law: Torah Study, designed to constitutionally protect draft exemptions. Since no one defended the arrest exemption law, the court did not consider whether the Basic Law on Torah Study justifies such exemptions. If that law survives, its implications will face future, potentially more difficult legal challenges, including budgetary benefits for draft evaders.