From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 27, 2025
UTJ official says High Court pushing clash between Haredi public and government
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party accuses the High Court of “pushing for an unnecessary clash between the Haredi public and the government” after it issues a provisional order instructing the government to explain why it has failed to issue enough conscription orders to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students to meet the needs of the IDF and to enforce those orders that have been sent.
“The High Court is forcibly pushing for an unnecessary clash between the Haredi public and the government. Instead of acting responsibly and seeking unifying solutions, it chooses to coerce and provoke,” an unnamed senior UTJ official tells the Ynet news site.
“This is not a concern for equality, but a forceful coercion that endangers the delicate social fabric,” the official asserts, accusing the court of “insisting on inflaming the situation.”
According to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabbat website, last week senior rabbinic leaders UTJ and fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas met and agreed to continue advocating for a policy of not showing up for draft summonses.
The army has stated that it is facing a manpower shortage and currently needs some 12,000 new soldiers — 7,000 of whom would be combat troops.
After the High Court ruled last year that there was no longer any legal framework for blanket military service exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students, the IDF sent out 18,915 initial draft orders to eligible ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students in several waves between July 2024 and March 2025.
Only two percent of those who received the orders actually enlisted, while there are some 70,000 Haredi yeshiva students who are eligible for the draft but who do not serve.
Following the ruling, Yisrael Beytenu party chairman Avigdor Liberman declares that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “October 7 government continues to harm Israel’s security, promoting the draft evasion law, while regular and reserve soldiers sacrifice their lives.”
“Everyone must enlist. Not enlisting? Not voting,” he tweets.
In a statement, the Israel Hofsheet religious freedom advocacy group welcomes the ruling, which came in response to its petition to the court, calling it a “yellow card for the state.”
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