Petition filed to High Court against law freezing arrests for Haredi draft dodgers

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel files a petition to the High Court of Justice against the law passed today freezing arrests of Haredi draft dodgers, and in effect halting ultra-Orthodox enlistment for the next seven months.

“A law that grants draft dodgers immunity from arrest is not the modest, temporary emergency measure it is being portrayed as. Rather, it is an attempt to enshrine in legislation a reality in which the obligation to serve applies only to part of the public — while combat soldiers and reservists continue to shoulder the burden for a third consecutive year,” says the organization announcing the submission of its petition. ‘

“We have now petitioned the High Court of Justice to stop this discriminatory legislation, and we will not stop until one law applies equally to everyone. The time has come for genuine equality in bearing the burden.”

Figures published by the Attorney General’s Office in May showed that at the time there were approximately 72,000 Haredi men liable for arrest for failing to abide by conscription orders.