In a sharply worded ruling issued Wednesday, the High Court of Justice delivered an unequivocal message to the government regarding the prolonged non-enforcement of the Security Service Law as it relates to the conscription of Haredim: the era of deferring, avoiding and circumventing the law must come to an end.

The opinion—signed by Vice President Noam Solberg, Justices Dafna Barak-Erez, Yael Wilner, David Mintz, and Ofer Grosskopf—lays bare years of governmental inaction and intentional delay. Their conclusion: “the fish stinks from the head.”

According to the ruling, rather than enforcing the existing law, which requires equal conscription—including Haredim—the government and the Defense Minister chose to operate as if this obligation had evaporated, while simultaneously promoting a new legislative framework whose arrival, purpose and substance remain unclear.

Court: Government “Relieved Itself of Responsibility” 

A significant portion of the ruling criticizes the conduct of Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, who the Court said effectively attempted to absolve the government of its authority and responsibility for enforcing conscription laws.

The justices stressed that “reliance on future legislation cannot serve as justification or excuse for ignoring existing law.”

The Court also noted that the state failed to present data regarding arrests of draft evaders, the number prosecuted, and how many ultimately agreed to enlist. From this absence, the justices inferred that arrests—where they occurred—were largely symbolic and short-lived.
The state, they wrote, “could have produced the data had it wished to do so,” but preferred not to expose the uncomfortable reality.

Judges: Torah Students Must Serve in Defensive War

In an unusual yet increasingly familiar move, the panel incorporated halakhic analysis, reiterating earlier rulings that from a Torah perspective, yeshiva students are also obligated to participate in a defensive war.
This applies, the justices wrote, even for those who view Torah study as a paramount religious commandment.

Court Orders Comprehensive Enforcement Plan

The Court required the government to submit, within 45 days, a detailed enforcement plan targeting draft evaders—one that must include sanctions equivalent to those applied to non-Haredi offenders.

Among the potential measures the government must consider:

• Property taxes

• Parental payments to educational institutions

• Public-transport concessions

• Eligibility for rent, apartment purchases, loans and mortgages

• Driver’s licenses

• Exit permits for leaving the country

• Candidacy for public office

• Income tax credit points

The justices emphasized that great weight must be given to professional recommendations, especially if experts deem certain sanctions “very effective”—even if they significantly impact the lives of Haredim who avoid service without exemption.

Critically, the Court warned: any policy that creates bypass funding channels for Haredim will be deemed ineffective.

Government Unlikely to Produce Effective Sanctions

Despite the ruling’s firmness, the justices refrained from prescribing an exact “basket” of sanctions, acknowledging the political sensitivity and complexity involved.
Yet the Court’s tone reflects skepticism: it doubts the government will adopt truly effective measures, particularly given coalition reliance on Haredi parties.

As a result, observers expect any eventual plan to be weak, partial or purely symbolic.

The ruling outlines punitive and administrative tools but avoids addressing what many see as the most crucial long-term factor: education.

Even at age 17, the article notes, young people can be taught the value of contributing to the state, identifying with a Jewish and democratic Israel, and understanding the IDF as the people’s army.
State-funded Haredi educational institutions, the analysis argues, should be required to teach these civic principles—which do not contradict Halacha, and may be more effective in motivating service than enforcement alone.

The High Court’s ruling represents one of its most forceful interventions on the Haredi draft issue in years. It puts the government on a 45-day countdown and signals that continued avoidance is no longer tenable.
Yet the real test will come not from legal rhetoric but from whether the government crafts—and enforces—a meaningful conscription policy in a deeply fraught political landscape.