Legislation9/15/2026

High Court Strikes Down Three-Month Freeze on Arrests of Yeshiva Students

The Knesset passed a temporary measure stopping arrests, investigations and other enforcement against yeshiva students who had not reported for military service. The High Court of Justice suspended the measure before it took effect and unanimously annulled it on September 3, 2026.

Key facts

•Law approved: July 14, 2026
•Knesset vote: 58–54
•Interim order: July 15, 2026
•Law annulled: September 3, 2026
•Court: High Court of Justice, nine justices
•Case number: not stated in the source

What the Knesset passed

The measure was enacted as Security Service Law (Amendment No. 28 – Temporary Provision), 5786-2026. It provided that, for three months, arrest, investigation and enforcement proceedings would not be taken against yeshiva students designated for military service who had failed to report. Existing prosecutions were to stop, as was the execution of judgments already issued.

How the proposal changed

The legislation began as a broader proposal concerning the status and enlistment of yeshiva students. On July 12, 2026, the enforcement freeze was inserted shortly before the bill’s second and third readings. The Knesset approved it on July 14 by 58 votes to 54, after the broader enlistment-exemption legislation had stalled.

Why the High Court annulled it

On July 15, 2026, the High Court of Justice issued an interim order preventing the law from taking effect. On September 3, a nine-justice panel unanimously held that the legislative process was defective because the amendment materially departed from the subject of the bill that had passed its first reading, contrary to Section 85 of the Knesset Rules of Procedure. Deputy President Noam Sohlberg wrote the principal opinion; eight justices also found the amendment unconstitutional on its substance, while Justice David Mintz dissented on that additional issue.

The wider enlistment context

The previous statutory exemption for yeshiva students expired on June 30, 2023. According to the source, young Haredi men who meet the age and health requirements are therefore subject to military service under the Security Service Law. The source also reports that the IDF told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee it lacked about 12,000 conscript soldiers, including roughly 7,000 combat troops.

What this means for you

The three-month enforcement freeze never became operative, so it created no temporary protection from arrest, investigation, prosecution or execution of judgments. People who fail to report for military service remain subject to the existing Security Service Law and its enforcement framework; the judgment did not create a new enlistment exemption.

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