High Court orders government to explain why ultra-Orthoodox men should not be drafted

The High Court of Justice orders the government to explain why it should not annul a government resolution passed in June 2023 which instructed the IDF not to draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students for nine months, and, by extension, why it should not begin drafting such men.

The orders essentially place the burden of proof on the government to explain why its resolution is not illegal and indicate that the court is taking the petitions heard today against the measure seriously.

The High Court also issues an interim order determining that a provision of the law for military service which provides those individual with service exemptions if they are not drafted within two years of turning 18 shall not apply to yeshiva students who have not been drafted because of the government’s resolution, a further indication that the court believes the petitions to have merit.

The state must respond to the orders by March 24.

The court also issues orders over separate petitions demanding that state-funding for yeshiva student stipends end, due to the absence of a law regulating their exemptions and the payments they receive for studying in yeshiva, which was part of the military service exemption framework until the law expired in June 2023.

In its order, the court asks the government to explain why it should not stop paying such stipends “for yeshiva students whose military service was not legally deferred.”

The state has until March 31 to respond.

The Movement for Quality Government which petitioned the court against the legality of the June 2023 government resolution applauded the court’s orders, describing them as “another step towards full equality in the burden [of military service],” adding “we hope that at the end of the month [of March], we will begin a new era where we all bear the burden of service, including ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.”