Israeli government legal advisor Gali Baharav-Miara announced that the law freezing arrest procedures for Haredi Jews evading the draft is unconstitutional and must be annulled. In a letter to the Supreme Court, Baharav-Miara described the arrangement as 'an extreme and clear example of a flawed and aggressive legislative arrangement' and stated that its only provision should be 'invalidity'.
The Israeli Knesset had passed the bill halting the arrest of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) who evade the draft, in the second and third readings on July 14, as part of an agreement reached with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a report by Yisrael Hayom newspaper, the law was passed by a vote of 58 to 54 in the 120-seat Knesset.
Three Likud MKs who did not participate in the vote - Sharen Haskel, Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz - voted against the law. According to the Times of Israel, the law aims to freeze the conscription of Haredim for at least seven months, to include those who reach military age after it takes effect, and to halt criminal proceedings against those already evading the draft.
According to the same source, the law also eliminates financial penalties that could be imposed on religious school officials for making false statements about their students' eligibility for the arrest exemption. Haredim, who make up about 13 percent of Israel's population, refuse military service on the grounds that they are focused on Torah study, and argue that integration into secular society threatens their religious identity.
This community had been exempt from military service until age 26 for decades on the grounds that they were studying in religious schools. In June 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling requiring Haredim to serve in the military and cutting financial support to religious institutions whose students refuse to enlist.
