High Court strikes down law shielding haredi yeshiva students from arrest over draft evasion

Israel’s High Court of Justice has unanimously canceled a legal shield that froze enforcement against haredi yeshiva students who failed to report for mandatory military service.

All nine justices who heard the petitions agreed to strike down the amendment. Eight of them also ruled that the measure did not meet the constitutional legal framework.

The coalition passed the amendment on July 14, 2026. It suspended arrest, investigation and other enforcement proceedings against haredi community members who were required to enlist but did not comply with their obligation to report under the Defense Service Law. Five petitions challenged its validity.

Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg wrote the main opinion. He ruled, with the agreement of the full panel, that the enacted amendment substantially departed from the subject of the bill approved at its first reading. That violated Section 85 of the Knesset Rules of Procedure, the court said.

The procedural defect meant the law had not, in practice, passed its first reading. The court therefore found that the legislative process contained a fundamental flaw requiring the amendment to be struck down.