From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Ahead of ruling on drafting yeshiva students, Haredi MK preemptively slams court for bias
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Responding to the news that the High Court of Justice is set to rule this morning on a petition requiring the immediate military conscription of previously exempt yeshiva students, senior United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni preemptively slams the judicial system for anti-Haredi bias.
“There has never been a ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of yeshiva students and in the interest of the ultra-Orthodox public,” Gafni declares in a statement. “There is not a single judge there who understands the value of studying the Torah and [yeshiva students’] contribution to the people of Israel in all generations.”
During a recent hearing on the issue, the justices appeared to have lost patience with the decades-long failure of successive governments to deal with the Haredi enlistment conundrum, indicating that it could rule for an immediate call-up — a result that could imperil Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, which is dependent on the ultra-Orthodox parties’ support.
Netanyahu’s coalition is currently working to pass a bill to lower the current age of exemption for yeshiva students from 26 to 21 and “very slowly” increase the rate of ultra-Orthodox conscription. Speaking with The Times of Israel last week, one UTJ lawmaker said his party had “lost its trust and its will to be a part of this coalition” because Netanyahu had failed to come through for them.
