Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Solberg became the focus of a violent protest this week after issuing a court ruling that strongly criticized police reluctance to enforce military draft laws against yeshiva students and ordered greater cooperation between civilian police and military authorities.

The ruling, published about six weeks ago, has been cited by extremist protesters as the reason they targeted Solberg’s home and family. The demonstration on Wednesday night drew widespread condemnation from across Israel’s political spectrum.

In his decision, Solberg addressed what he described as the police’s ongoing refusal to play a more active role in locating and detaining draft evaders and military deserters from the chareidi community.

He wrote that the court had been informed, both in written submissions and during oral arguments, that police continue to refrain from detaining draft evaders during routine encounters despite having the authority to do so. The police also maintained that they were unable to assist the military police in planned operations to apprehend draft evaders, even though military authorities require police cooperation to carry out such actions in civilian areas.

Solberg sharply criticized this approach, noting that the police justified their policy by citing concerns that enforcement operations in chareidi neighborhoods often trigger large-scale disturbances and require additional manpower.

The judge acknowledged that police resources are limited and that law enforcement agencies must prioritize among competing responsibilities. However, he argued that a complete refusal to exercise legal authority cannot be justified simply by invoking resource constraints or budgetary limitations.

According to Solberg, police discretion does not extend to abandoning enforcement altogether. He wrote that leaving legal authority unused and effectively dormant cannot be excused by claims of competing priorities.

He concluded that the police were failing to fulfill their legal duty to enforce the law against draft evaders from the chareidi sector and stated that such a situation could not be accepted.

Solberg then directed the Israel Police to assist military enforcement authorities and actively participate in enforcing conscription laws within the chareidi community.

He emphasized that such cooperation is especially necessary because the issue involves what he described as a large-scale, ongoing, and deliberate violation of the law.

In one of the ruling’s most forceful passages, Solberg argued that allowing public disorder to deter enforcement sends a dangerous message and rewards those who seek to obstruct the legal process.

He wrote that it is unacceptable for authorities to avoid enforcement specifically because opponents threaten widespread disturbances, warning that such an approach creates a reality in which lawbreakers benefit from their actions and force determines outcomes.

The judge further stated that a democratic society cannot tolerate a situation where those willing to exert pressure or create unrest effectively dictate whether laws will be enforced.

Concluding his discussion of enforcement, Solberg instructed the state to move quickly and diligently to pursue criminal proceedings against draft evaders from the chareidi community according to the same standards applied to the broader public.

He also specifically rejected any policy under which police officers decline to detain or arrest individuals identified as draft evaders during routine interactions with law enforcement.

The ruling ultimately paved the way for increased police involvement in locating and apprehending yeshiva students classified as draft evaders, including arrests made during traffic stops and other routine encounters, followed by their transfer to military authorities.