The State of Israel submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice Today requesting to push off the application of it decision regarding Charedi Conscription to the IDF for another seven months. The request came in an effort to get the High Court to agree to allow the State to finish the process of setting down the new conscription law until the beginning of the winter session of the Knesset.

The government said in the request that it had not been able to obtain the necessary agreements in order to finalize a new law, and therefore is requesting an extension. The government said that only this week it recognized that it will not be able to pass the law in the current session of the Knesset, and therefore, with two months advanced notice prior to the deadline set down by the High Court, it is requesting an extension of another 7 months.

The State said: “As there is no agreed upon replacement for the previous conscription law, should the request for an extension not be granted, then the State would be forced to fall back on the general law, which demands that all of the Bnei Yeshiva would be drafted immediately.” This would result in a forced conscription of all yeshiva students who currently declare that Torah learning is their occupation, and currently receive an exemption from being drafted so long as they stay learning in Yeshivos continuously until they are no longer of a draftable age. The State argued that such a turn of events is impossible to enforce realistically speaking.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)