BICOM

Israel’s High Court yesterday issued an injunction against the state, halting the transfer of public money to an estimated 3,000 ultra-Orthodox seminary students who have not responded to military enlistment papers, on the grounds that the payments lack legal standing.

The ruling is also considered to be a message from the courts that the Knesset must complete legislation currently under consideration to create a more equitable military draft system, including a more comprehensive enlistment of ultra-Orthodox students. The bill, drafted by a ministerial committee headed by Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri of Yesh Atid, passed a first Knesset reading in July, but has since remained under the consideration of a Knesset committee. The proposed legislation requires that all but 1,800 full-time ultra-Orthodox seminary students be required to enlist in either the IDF or civilian national service once they reach the age of 21. The bill states that failure to do so will result in imprisonment.

Yesterday, in response to a petition from lobbying groups, the High Court ruled that payments to an estimated 3,000 ultra-Orthodox students who have received call-up papers must end. The payments were made under the terms of the Tal Law, which had provided a framework for exemptions for ultra-Orthodox students from military and civilian national service, but was ruled unconstitutional last year. In the absence of a new law, ultra-Orthodox students born in 1994 and 1995 have received call-up orders, although their draft has been continually deferred by the Defence Ministry. Yesterday’s court decision ruled that despite the deferrals, payments must be halted.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid confirmed that the payments would be stopped and his Yesh Atid colleague MK Dov Lipman praised the ruling and said there is a “pressing need” for legislation mandating ultra-Orthodox enlistment. However, the ruling was sharply criticised by ultra-Orthodox leaders. United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni called it “a severe escalation and a declaration of war against the ultra-Orthodox public.”