High Court poised to strike down Haredi draft dodger arrest ban after brief hearing

The High Court of Justice hearing over a law banning arrests of Haredi draft dodgers ends after just an hour and a half, with the nine justices on the panel barely challenging the arguments of petitioners that the law is discriminatory and should be struck down.

Representatives of the Knesset’s legal adviser and the attorney general both argue that the law should be annulled, with the former arguing that the way the legislation was passed severely violated Knesset procedure, and the latter arguing that the law creates unconstitutional discriminatory enforcement in Israel’s criminal justice system.

The government boycotted the hearing and was not represented.

The justices strongly object to arguments put forward by Natan Rosenblatt, an attorney representing the Haredi Emet L’Yaakov organization, which requested to be added to the list of respondents to argue in favor of the law.

Rosenblatt argues that a Haredi man cannot enlist because “the Torah forbids him from doing so,” and argues that “the Torah” forbids military service enlistment “as long as there is no arrangement in which a Haredi man can enter and leave as a Haredi.”

Justice David Mintz, the most conservative judge on the court, who is also Orthodox, interjects, saying “I cannot believe what I’m hearing,” challenging with astonishment Rosenblatt’s assertion that the Torah forbids military service enlistment.

Rosenblatt claims in response that “all the great rabbis of Israel” forbid enlistment under the current circumstances, to which Mintz retorts “not all the great rabbis,” and says that Rosenblatt is referring only to rabbis in the Haredi community.

“You’re speaking in sectoral terms, with all due respect,” says Mintz, in reference to the fact that innumerable Orthodox rabbis believe military service to be obligatory according to the Torah.

The court now seems poised to strike down the law, which is a temporary measure banning the police and IDF from arresting Haredi draft dodgers for what in practice would be a seven-month period.

Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, who headed today’s panel, says the court will try to issue its final ruling “soon.”

The High Court earlier this month froze implementation of the law until further notice.