In a dramatic intervention on Wednesday, the High Court of Justice froze the implementation of a law passed by the Knesset only a day before, which banned the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers for seven months.

In response to petitions against the law, the court ordered that a hearing be held as soon as possible over the legislation and issued a temporary order preventing the law from coming into effect until further decision.

The court also issued a conditional order requiring the government to explain why the law should not be struck down, in light of previous High Court rulings on the issue and the arguments of petitioners which the court said held “significant weight.”

Justice Ofer Grosskopf, who issued the decision, said he did so due to “this court’s longstanding rulings on the issue of drafting yeshiva students, the implications of freezing arrest, investigation and enforcement procedures with respect to only certain segments of the population, and the weighty arguments raised by the petitioners against its validity.”

A hearing before an expanded panel of judges will now be scheduled, after which the court may issue an interim order freezing implementation of the law until a final ruling.

The law bans arrests, investigations and enforcement measures against draft dodgers enrolled in yeshiva study until November 30, but will actually extend to February 2027 due to legal reasons tied to the upcoming elections.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir called the law “inconceivable” on Monday, saying it was “clearly and unequivocally inconsistent with the IDF’s needs” and amounted to “providing mass exemptions from prosecution.”

Some 72,000........

© The Times of Israel