Israel’s government is doing “everything” it can to extend the exemption for yeshiva students from IDF service, Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri said in an interview published on Monday in the Shas-affiliated newspaper Haderech. Deri said that “despite it being difficult at this time to find a legal and agreed-upon solution,” he was acting … Read more
Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal aimed at avoiding economic measures against military-age haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshiva students, who are required by law to report for IDF service. The proposal was deemed “not legally viable” by the attorney-general’s office, whose opinions are legally binding, but the government approved the measure regardless. The text of … Read more
The High Court of Justice’s ruling on Tuesday stated the obvious: that the government of Israel must abide by the existing National Service Law, which states that every 18-year-old Israeli must report for military service. The real question was how far the court would go and which tools it would use to ensure that … Read more
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion made a significant decision at a Provisional State Council meeting not to draft yeshiva students, setting in motion a policy that would shape Israeli society and provoke decades of debate over military service exemptions. On Friday, early October 1948, two days before Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) 1948, the … Read more
The Likud’s response on Tuesday to the High Court ruling saying that the state could no longer refrain from drafting haredim into the IDF included several misleading claims, bringing into question whether or not the government intends to lead to a significant increase in haredi draftees. The Likud, the largest party in the governing … Read more
Not in my neighborhood A yeshiva will have to evacuate a private building in the Baka neighborhood following strong opposition from local residents. Last week the Local Affairs Court ruled that the New Hebron Yeshiva didn’t have the right to use the premises on Gad Street, as the neighborhood plan does not include a … Read more
