High Court to start hearing petitions calling for immediate Haredi military draft

A nine-justice panel at the High Court of Justice is set to begin hearing petitions demanding the immediate conscription of ultra-Orthodox young men to the Israel Defense Forces.

The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to last several hours. It will be broadcast live.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara came out in support of the petitions on Thursday, writing in the state’s response that the government was acting “without authority,” “violating express rules of the court,” and “undermining the rule of law” in the manner it is addressing the new legal situation regarding ultra-Orthodox Jews, also called Haredim, who are eligible for conscription.

The government has sought private representation in the High Court instead of that of the attorney general, since she opposes its position in which it seeks to continue funding ultra-Orthodox yeshivas and not enforcing military conscription on young Haredi men until it passes a new law allowing for ultra-Orthodox service exemptions.

Frustration over the exemptions for Haredi men has peaked in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught – which saw nearly 1,200 people killed and 252 kidnapped – and amid the war that ensued, with the military death toll mounting, soldiers being asked to serve longer due to a manpower shortage, and the threats facing Israel growing.