Ultra-Orthodox political parties versus the Supreme Court
The Imminent Political/Legal Explosion
The ultra-Orthodox parties have pushed hard on the Prime Minister in their coalition negotiations. The amendment to the Draft Law is the only issue of religion and state relations that is spelled out in detail, not only in the agreements of the ultra-Orthodox parties with the Likud, but also in the Likud's agreement with Blue & White.
05/06/2020 01:35
Tags: Draft Law · Haredi · ultra-Orthodox · IDF · IDF Draft Law
Hebron Yeshiva, source: Wikipedia
For about two years now, the State has been asking the Supreme Court for postponements on the expiration date set by the Court when it declared the amendment to the Security Service Law, which facilitated massive draft dodging by ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, to be unconstitutional and therefore void. The Court based its ruling mostly on the gross violation of the principle of equality. The deadline for the most recent extension granted by the Court is June 16th. This is why the ultra-Orthodox parties have pushed so hard on the Prime Minister in their coalition negotiations. The amendment to the Draft Law is the only issue of religion and state relations that is spelled out in detail, not only in the agreements of the ultra-Orthodox parties with the Likud, but also in the Likud's agreement with Blue & White. The relevant clause states:
From the Likud coalition agreement with the ultra-Orthodox parties 13.5.20:
As the government is established, it will enact a law to regulate the status of yeshiva students as proposed by the Ministry of Defense and the IDF, with amendments to acknowledge the importance of Torah study, and the government will accordingly act in the spirit of the policy that the State of Israel will not limit the quota of Torah students …
Should there be any violation/harm done for any reason*, after enacting the law as agreed to above, the Prime Minister and the "Likud bloc" will act together and in mutual commitment to repair the harm, in acknowledgement of the importance of Torah study, and the government will accordingly act in the spirit of the policy that the State of Israel will not limit the quota of Torah students.
*Alluding to the Court’s anticipated intervention - UR
At a future time we will discuss this explosive subject in more detail, including its legal aspects and implications, but for the sake of brevity and the benefit of those that have not been following this struggle over the course of many years, we note that one thing is clear from the amendment demanded by the ultra-Orthodox parties: They don't care what it is called, as long as it is clear that not one yeshiva student will be drafted that does not want to be drafted! Obviously, this goes against all the recognized principles of equality, but that was the price they demanded for their votes [plus many other clauses detailed in the Likud agreement].
Oddly, this demand was accepted by Blue & White too, which is puzzling to us, given that two of Israel’s former Chiefs of Staff are at the head of the party, and one of them, Benny Gantz, is currently the Minister of Defense!
Oddly, this demand was accepted by Blue & White too, which is puzzling to us, given that two of Israel’s former Chiefs of Staff are at the head of the party, and one of them, Benny Gantz, is currently the Minister of Defense! At the same time it should be noted that Blue & White, which first arrived at its coalition agreement with the Likud, is not obligated to accept the other demands made by the Haredi parties and thus some years of ongoing and exacerbated struggles in the area of religion and state are expected, at least as long as this coalition exists, and we hope that Blue & White will be able to stem them, using the parity it enjoys with the Likud on all matters of legislation.
The ultra-Orthodox parties understand very well that even if they have been able to force the hands of their political coalition partners to agree to this disgraceful mass exemption from sharing in the defense of the country, the Supreme Court will still stand in their way. The Court has made its position clear in the past, and it has invalidated previous attempts and legislating against the basic equality principles. Knowing that they can dictate their demands to politicians, but not to the Court, explains their repeated demand that the change in Israeli law be not only about the draft, but also regarding the powers of the Supreme Court.
They want to pass an "Override Clause", which will ensure the Court's neutralization, in effect preventing it from passing judicial review over the constitutionality of Knesset legislation. This pending threat to the authority and independence of the Supreme Court is the topic of our upcoming webinar, which will be held next Tuesday. You are invited to join us.