High Court names nine-justice panel to hear petitions on law halting arrest of haredi draft dodgers

Israel's High Court of Justice is set to convene a nine-justice panel on July 28 to consider petitions challenging a law that halts arrest and enforcement proceedings against ultra-Orthodox (haredi) yeshiva students who do not report for military service. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit announced the expanded panel, which includes justices who previously issued critical rulings demanding the government enforce military service obligations against haredi draft evaders.

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The composition of the panel is particularly significant because it includes all five justices who issued the court’s detailed and sharply critical rulings in November 2025 and April 2026, requiring the government to enforce military-service obligations against haredi draft evaders.

The composition of this panel is particularly noteworthy as it includes all five justices who previously ordered the state to strengthen enforcement against haredi draft evaders. The challenge to the new law places these justices in a position to review a temporary measure suspending the very proceedings they had mandated. This situation arises after a series of forceful High Court judgments highlighting inequality in military service and the government's failure to enforce existing draft laws.

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Grosskopf cited the High Court’s longstanding rulings on the enlistment of yeshiva students, the implications of freezing enforcement proceedings “with regard to only certain sections of the population,” and the “weighty arguments” raised against the law’s validity.

Earlier, Justice Ofer Grosskopf issued a temporary order suspending the law's entry into force and a conditional order requiring the Knesset and government to justify its validity. Grosskopf cited the court's longstanding rulings on yeshiva student enlistment, the implications of freezing enforcement for specific population segments, and the "weighty arguments" against the law. In June 2024, a unanimous nine-justice panel ruled that the government lacked legal authority to refrain from drafting yeshiva students after statutory deferment frameworks expired. The court further ordered the government in November 2025 to develop an effective enforcement policy, including criminal and economic measures, finding the state's conduct had approached a complete abandonment of enforcement against haredi draft evaders.

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The court returned to the issue in November 2025, ordering the government to formulate an effective enforcement policy without delay.