Are IDF Draft Exemptions for Yeshivah Students Over?

On April 1, Israel entered uncharted territory when Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ruled that the IDF had to begin drafting yeshivah students. No government has been in this position since Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion first agreed to exempt Agudas Yisrael’s list of 400 bochurim from military service. While there won’t be a stampede for the exits of the beis medrash, as serious Torah learners have always demonstrated sacrifice and devotion to continue learning even under duress, there might be some short-term fallout: What impact will slashed budgets and the new legal reality have on Israel’s yeshivos? And, how can the government of a Jewish country sever itself from the very pillars that support the continued existence of the Jewish People?

How We Got Here

For the past few decades, yeshivah students have been exempted from the draft by a series of laws, each of which was in turn invalidated by the High Court.

In 2017, after the High Court struck down the existing law, it gave the Knesset a year to enact a new law. But with four elections producing no clear winners, the High Court had to extend the deadline repeatedly.

In 2022, Netanyahu won a stable majority in the election, but he procrastinated. The previous law regulating exemptions expired last summer. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a temporary directive not to draft yeshivah students, but that expired April 1.

As a result, a large percentage of yeshivah students are now subject to the draft, like all Israelis their age.