Posted on 06/30/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, criticized the Supreme Court judges following their ruling on the draft law.
"These secular judges who do not know a single page of Talmud - what do they know? They do not come close to the ankles of our rabbis. There is no need to fear them."
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state is obligated to draft yeshiva students into the army, in the absence of a "legal framework" that allows for distinguishing between yeshiva students and other candidates for military service.
"The state does not have the authority to order a blanket exemption from enlistment, and it must act in accordance with the provisions of the Defense Service Law. In the absence of a legal framework for exemption from enlistment, it is not possible to continue transferring support funds to yeshivas and study halls for students who have not received an exemption or whose military service has not been deferred," ruled the nine judges. The head of the panel, Acting Chief Justice Uzi Fogelman, wrote that "the state must act to enforce the provisions of the Defense Service Law on yeshiva students".
"As everyone knows, on the morning of October 7, 2023, the State of Israel experienced a brutal terrorist attack. Since then, for a period of over 8 months, we have been at war against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and the northern front. As is known, the needs of the army in peacetime are not the same as in wartime. Accordingly, the current stance of the defense establishment is that due to the abundance of security tasks and the intense fighting in various arenas, there is a concrete and urgent need for additional manpower."