Israel’s High Court of Justice ordered the state to begin criminal proceedings against yeshivaleit who have ignored IDF draft orders. The unanimous decision accused the government of “almost totally shirking” its obligation to enforce the law and warned that the current system of mass non-enforcement is eroding the rule of law and damaging soldier morale across the country.
The ruling comes as the government seeks to pass new legislation to restore exemptions for full-time Torah learners — a policy that expired in June 2023 — but has failed to provide any legal or practical alternative. Only 2.3 percent of eligible yeshivah students have enlisted since the exemption expired, leading watchdog groups to petition for enforcement.
Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg authored the decision — invoking pesukim and words of gedolei Yisrael to argue that the current war constitutes a halachic obligation to take part in defending Jewish lives.
Calling the situation one of “life and death,” Sohlberg wrote that the duty to protect the nation is so fundamental that one “would not even need a pasuk — it is simple logic.” He quoted Rav Chaim Soloveitchik’s famous line, directed at someone who misuses Torah learning as an excuse: “It would be better for someone who does not know when to put down the Gemara not to have opened it.”
MK Yisrael Eichler (Agudas Yisrael) condemned the ruling, calling the Supreme Court an “evil regime” staging an “anti-Jewish coup d’état” and warned it was trying to incite a civil war against chareidim.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid praised the decision as proof that the “mass draft-dodging operation funded by the coalition is illegal.”
According to data cited by the ruling, the IDF currently needs 12,000 additional conscripted soldiers — half for combat roles — while an estimated 80,000 chareidi men ages 18–24 are legally eligible but have not enlisted.
Sohlberg noted that the shortage has been visible during the war: A record number of reservists were called up: The government raised the reserve-duty exemption age; Religious Zionist communities and pre-military academies were fast-tracked for enlistment; The government even failed in its attempt to lengthen mandatory service.
Despite this, he said, the state continues to spare the chareidi sector from enlistment requirements, “without hearing the cry of those carrying the burden.”
Court Orders Swift Enforcement
The government was ordered to:
- Immediately begin criminal proceedings against men legally defined as draft dodgers
- Present within 45 days a practical enforcement plan, including civil and financial consequences against those refusing orders
The court emphasized that the ongoing attempts to pass a new exemption law do not cancel the government’s obligation to enforce the current law.
Sohlberg warned that the lack of enforcement not only endangers national security, but also undermines the willingness of non-chareidi families to continue sending their sons to combat units: “The ongoing mass violation of the law with such severe inequality is unacceptable — especially given the urgent security need.”
Referencing the last two years of intense war, Sohlberg wrote: “Many were killed; thousands injured; families torn apart. Reservists lost their livelihoods. Soldiers and civilians will carry these scars forever. Many in the chareidi public do not respond to the obligation — legal and moral — to lend a hand to their brothers in times of need.”
The decision stops short — for now — of imposing specific punitive policies. But the court warned that if the government continues to avoid enforcement, it may issue direct and detailed orders.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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One Response
Israel’s High Court of Justice needs to put down the crack pipe. They don’t have enough prison space. Instead of the youngerlite learning in kollelim and paying their own bills, now the government will be forced to provide the ones they manage to imprison with 3 squares and a bed. The sedarim will continue in the prisons.