The High Court of Justice on Wednesday issued a provisional order freezing a Knesset law passed a day earlier that would have suspended arrest and enforcement proceedings against ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who fail to report for military service. Justice Ofer Grosskopf cited the court’s longstanding rulings on equal enlistment and the “weighty arguments” of petitioners, and ordered the state to explain why the law should not be struck down. The order does not invalidate the legislation but prevents it from taking effect while an expanded panel of justices prepares to hear the petitions.

The law, approved by 58 votes to 54, was a temporary measure set to run until November 30, effectively shielding tens of thousands of haredi draft resisters from criminal sanctions. According to the Knesset’s legal advisers, the bill granted immunity to one segment of the population while leaving sanctions in place for others, and raised concerns about the legislative process. The measure was advanced under pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, who had threatened to block other government bills. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the petitioners, described the law and a newly enacted Basic Law declaring Torah study a fundamental value as parts of a single effort to grant a draft exemption “through the back door.” Shas chairman Arye Deri, by contrast, accused the court of “power-drunk judicial activism” and of trampling democracy.

The legal clash unfolds as Israel’s economic leadership issues warnings about the fiscal trajectory. Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron told a business conference that the next government must halt the rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio, which has climbed from around 60 percent in 2023 to 70 percent, driven by a defence budget that has doubled to as much as 8 percent of GDP since the October 7 attacks. Yaron stressed the need to invest in growth engines such as education and infrastructure and to better integrate ultra-Orthodox Jews into the labour market. He advocated tax increases in 2027, though the Finance Ministry’s budget director said he was “strongly opposed” and argued that faster growth could lower the debt burden.

The political calendar adds urgency. Israel is set to hold a general election on October 27, with polls showing the current ruling coalition losing ground. A survey by the Kantar Institute for the Israeli public broadcaster Kan placed the party of former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot in first place with 24 seats, ahead of Likud, and found Eisenkot leading Netanyahu on suitability for prime minister by 41 to 37 percent. Security dominates voter priorities, with 25 percent of respondents naming it the decisive issue. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is moving to tighten control over Likud’s candidate list ahead of primaries scheduled for August 17, securing the right to reserve eight slots in the top thirty. The High Court has yet to set a hearing date for the draft law petitions, and the respondents must submit their replies four days before that hearing. The court’s final ruling, and the election outcome, will shape the future of military service equality and fiscal policy in Israel.