The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Thursday to annul a highly contentious law passed in July that banned the IDF and police from arresting ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers for a seven-month period.
All nine of the presiding judges ruled that the law was invalid on procedural grounds, while eight of those judges also found that the law was unconstitutional since it did severe harm to the principle of equality.
After failing to pass a law reinstating blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, the government rammed through legislation banning the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers for a four month period, which due to legal reasons connected to the elections would have extended to seven months.
The government argued, without evidence, that the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers was creating societal unrest and reducing willingness in the community to enlist, contrary to the assertion of the IDF that enforcement against draft dodging was necessary and effective.
Opposition leaders welcomed the decision, with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, a longtime proponent of Haredi enlistment whose party petitioned against the law, praising the court for refusing to allow “distinction between one type of blood and another.”
