The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning 13 Shevat 5774 convened in an expanded nine-justice forum to hear a petition from the Hiddush organization. Hiddush attorney Yehuda Ressler is questioning why the state has yet to begin the draft of eligible chareidim. The petitioners are also seeking to immediately halt state funding of yeshivos attended by talmidim who refuse to comply with draft orders.

Hiddush bases its petition on the court’s disqualification of the Tal Law, as the latter provided a legal framework permitting chareidim to avoid military service and receive state funding. Hiddush continues to challenge the ongoing funding and the failure of the IDF to draft chareidim as it does non-chareidi sectors of society, pointing out the state no longer has a legal framework that can justify its policy.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has pushed off the draft of chareidi on a number of occasions as we seeks to buy time until the new chareidi draft law is passed into law. State officials explained to the court that the legislation process to draft a new chareidi draft law is in the final stages. Justice Salim Jubran however did not feel the state’s explanation was acceptable. The court questioned if there is a new reality for the disqualification of the Tal Law compels the state to draft chareidim and yet the state continues to procrastinate. The court was critical of Ya’alon latest decision to delay the induction of 1,800 chareidim who were supposed to enter the IDF on 20 Teves.

The state however contends Ya’alon’s decision is not unreasonable considering the new draft law is about to be presented in Knesset and passed into law by the Shaked Committee.

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(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)