Israeli Supreme Court Strikes Down Haredi Draft Exemption

[jimmy olsen]

Good

http://m.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Court-orders-govt-to-pass-new-law-or-draft-all-haredim-504901?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The High Court of Justice on Tuesday struck down the government's 2015 policy on recruitment of haredim into the IDF and the country's national service, saying that it fails to meet its goal and discriminates against most Israelis who draft into the IDF as part of the country's obligatory conscription.

The court gave the government one year to pass a new law before the default emergency regulations kick in, which means that all fit Israelis of age will be drafted-- with no exemptions for haredim.

The decision follows a massive, almost year-and-half-lag in which no hearings were held and it appears that the High Court and the government played a game of chicken. The court did not rule and waited to see whether the state would modify aspects of the law, which it had watered down to please haredi parties on the coalition, but which the court and the petitioners had criticized.

Likewise, the state waited to see if the court would refrain from ruling in order to avoid being attacked for judicial activism as well as to avoid addressing the time-bomb issue which could blow up the coalition.

Haredim as a rule oppose army service because they are concerned about losing their religious values, which include a focus on Torah study. Most secular Israelis are angry that haredim mostly get an exemption from the draft that binds them - an exemption which haredi parties demand before joining any coalition.

The decision was 8-1, including Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, who wrote the majority opinion, and just-retired Justice Elyakim Rubinstein - whose retirement forced the court to issue a ruling so that he could still participate. The one dissenting vote came from Justice Noam Sohlberg.

The 2013 coalition government, under pressure from Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, had passed a revolutionary March 2014 law requiring haredim to join the IDF and, for the first time, make haredi draft-dodgers face criminal sanctions.

This fix was also necessary ever since the High Court struck down the Tal Law in August 2012. Without a new law in place, the state would have been obligated to draft all haredim into the IDF at age 18 - the same as all other Israelis. Even Lapid'sv 2014 law did not require all haredim to join the IDF, which made the issue of discrimination a close call for the court.

But the Lapid-law's aggressive targets were eviscerated by the government's 2015 law, making it easier for the High Court to strike it down and send the government back to the drawing board on the issue.

[Eddie Teach]

Yeah, fuck those pussy C.O.s 

[Admiral Yi]

Yeah, fuck those pussy C.O.s 

You sure that's the reason for the exception?

[The Brain]

I don't get it. They can't study the Torah in prison?

[Eddie Teach]

Yeah, fuck those pussy C.O.s 

You sure that's the reason for the exception?

Seems it boils down to a religious belief they shouldn't fight in wars.

[The Minsky Moment]

Seems it boils down to a religious belief they shouldn't fight in wars.

There is no such belief.  There is nothing in Talmud or the Torah that prohibits fighting in wars.   Modern orthodox Israelis, who are aware they live in 21st century Israel and not 18th century Poland, have no problem serving in the IDF.

The haredim resist the IDF because it is a secular institution, and in particular because *gasp* it mixes men and women in positions of equality.

They also believe that praying and studying the Torah contributes more to national security than service.

It is a combination of supreme self-righteous arrogance and contempt of modern values of equality and free expression.

[The Brain]

Is it possible to join the haredim?

[Habbaku]

Is it possible to join the haredim?

I think you have to be a woman for that.

[Barrister]

Seems it boils down to a religious belief they shouldn't fight in wars.

There is no such belief.  There is nothing in Talmud or the Torah that prohibits fighting in wars.   Modern orthodox Israelis, who are aware they live in 21st century Israel and not 18th century Poland, have no problem serving in the IDF.

The haredim resist the IDF because it is a secular institution, and in particular because *gasp* it mixes men and women in positions of equality.

They also believe that praying and studying the Torah contributes more to national security than service.

It is a combination of supreme self-righteous arrogance and contempt of modern values of equality and free expression.

If it was pacifism, I think most militaries that had a draft had ways to accommodate conscientious objectors - they would still be required to serve, but would be placed in non-combat roles.

[Malthus]

Israel exempts pacifists from the draft altogether, though there is a serious complaint that it doesn't exempt many. There is some sort of administrative tribunal that rules on the matter, and they actually exempt very few - at least according to this article (more than a decade old, though).

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/pacifists-are-fighting-hard-against-the-draft-1.51499

Refusal to serve because you don't agree with Israeli military actions (or the existence of the Israeli state) isn't considered "pacifism" but rather "civil disobedience", and earns a jail sentence.

Which makes the existing group exemptions more anomalous (and on their face, unfair).