Justice spars with state attorney over government foot-dragging on Haredi IDF draft

Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman gives the state’s representative Avi Milikovsky a difficult time as the attorney seeks to assert the legality of the government’s June 2023 resolution ordering the army not to enforce a law requiring the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Milikovsky, of the State Attorney’s Office, argues that the government resolution does not actively exempt, freeze or defer the service of Haredi yeshiva students, but merely tells the IDF conscription authorities not to enforce their conscription.

“Isn’t this de facto service deferrals?” Vogelman asks him.

Milikovsky argues that the IDF conscription authorities do not conscript all military-aged men in one go, but do so gradually over the course of a 12-month conscription calendar and could therefore wait several more months while a new legislative arrangement is passed before drafting Haredi yeshiva students.

“When the law expired, it was clear the conscription authorities couldn’t draft all 60,000 Haredi yeshiva students [who are currently of military age],” says Milikovsky.

Vogelman objects again, saying that not all 60,000 would need to be immediately drafted.

“So let them draft 1,000 to start with,” suggests the court’s acting president.