Israel’s High Court of Justice on Tuesday temporarily blocked the implementation of the law that freezes the arrest of bnei Torah who have not reported for military service, issuing an interim order while signaling that a final ruling on the legislation is expected in the near future.

The temporary injunction was issued shortly after an expanded panel of nine Supreme Court justices, led by Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, concluded a lengthy hearing on a series of petitions seeking to strike down the law.

Those challenging the legislation include the Israel Hofsheet (Be Free Israel) movement, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, the Brothers and Sisters in Arms organization, along with MKs Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman. The petitioners argued that the law was enacted through an improper legislative process and unlawfully violates the constitutional principle of equality in a manner that fails to satisfy the standards required under Israel’s Limitation Clause.

The proceedings took an unusual turn because the government declined to send anyone to defend the very law it had passed. Instead, the Knesset was represented by its legal adviser, attorney Yitzhak Bart, who told the Court that “there is no choice but to strike down the law,” maintaining that the legislation was approved through a process that did not comply with the requirements of Basic Law: The Knesset or the Knesset’s own procedural rules.

Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz questioned how the Court should handle a situation in which the Knesset declines to defend legislation it enacted. Bart replied that this was “a unique and highly unusual situation,” explaining that the Knesset’s legal advisers are obligated to defend legislation only when it has been passed in accordance with the law. He added that throughout the legislative process, the legal advisers repeatedly warned lawmakers about serious flaws in the bill.

Representing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, attorney Aner Helman argued that the legislation is “defective and harmful,” insisting that it does not satisfy “even a single requirement of the Limitation Clause.”

Helman contended that the law effectively bars criminal enforcement against those who fail to report for military service and could even halt prosecutions that are already underway. He argued that, particularly at a time when the IDF says it needs thousands of additional soldiers, there is no basis for allowing the law to remain in effect.

Several members of the Court also pressed the state’s legal representatives during the hearing. Justice Yael Wilner questioned why so much emphasis was being placed on the current wartime situation, asking whether the same concerns about discrimination would not exist during peacetime as well. Justice Daphne Barak-Erez observed that the legal dispute is not about the enlistment of yeshivah bochurim itself, but rather about whether criminal sanctions may be imposed.

In a rare development, the justices later permitted attorney Natan Rosenblatt, who was not one of the parties to the case, to address the Court on behalf of the Chareidi community. Rosenblatt argued that the Chareidi public has endured a series of hardships in recent months and asserted that it has repeatedly been treated unfairly by the judicial system.

“We have never, not even once, received a favorable ruling from the High Court.”

Rosenblatt went on to ask the Court: “In a Jewish and democratic state, is it appropriate to place a person before the dilemma of whether to obey the Torah or obey the law?”

Justice David Mintz sharply challenged that assertion.

“Sir, with all due respect, I am restraining myself. I am listening to what you’re saying, and I simply cannot believe what I am hearing. Is there a Torah prohibition against military service?”

Rosenblatt answered that there is, replying: “Your Honor, as a religious man, knows that there is such a prohibition. All the leading Torah sages say so.”

Justice Mintz rejected that characterization, responding: “That itself is apparently subject to very serious dispute. Not all the leading Torah sages. You are speaking from a sectarian perspective. What kind of statement is that?”

{Matzav.com}