Court specifies state must ‘act to enforce law’ to draft Haredim, but indicates leeway on how many must be drafted immediately

The High Court’s decision that the state is obligated to draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students says explicitly that the government must “act to enforce the Law for Military Service on yeshiva students” now that there is no longer a legal framework to exempt them from mandatory conscription, meaning state agencies must take active steps to draft such men into IDF service.

The court also points out that the Israel Defense Forces has itself stated that it would be able to draft 3,000 Haredi yeshiva students in the 2024 enlistment year, which began in June 2024, out of some 63,000 such men who are now eligible for the draft.

The court says, however, that the petition it ruled on today is not the right framework “to discuss the details of how the law is implemented or the scale of enlistment for yeshiva students,” and says it is not issuing an opinion on that issue, implying that the government has some leeway in how many ultra-Orthodox men it needs to draft on an immediate basis.

“It should be understood that even when exercising this authority for formulating a program for the gradual conscription of yeshiva students, the military authorities are obligated to act in accordance with the principles of administrative law,” the court says.

This part of the court’s ruling appears to accept the need for a gradual increase in ultra-Orthodox enlistment owing to the huge number of men from the community now eligible for the draft and the logistical difficulties of accommodating their religious lifestyle, but nevertheless warns the government that it is obligated to begin the process.