Attorney Yitzhak Bart argued that the law freezing arrests of yeshiva students evading conscription was not enacted in accordance with Knesset rules, according to N12 journalist Eli Hirsman. Bart said the bill's original purpose was integrating yeshiva students into the IDF and national service, but it was changed to freezing enforcement proceedings ahead of its final readings.
Attorney Yitzhak Bart's statement, as reported by N12 journalist Eli Hirsman, adds a procedural-legal critique to the contentious yeshiva draft exemption debate. Bart argued that the arrest freeze law, which passed its final readings, violated Knesset bylaws because its subject matter changed from the original legislative intent — integrating yeshiva students into the IDF and national service — to freezing enforcement proceedings.
The broader legislative saga has been unfolding for weeks. The Zioneer reported on July 12 that Knesset Legal Adviser Adv. Sagit Afik validated the 'new subject' claim against the same law, stating that the original text voted on in the plenum did not include an arrangement for arresting deserters. Earlier, on June 30, the IDF's Manpower Planning and Administration Division chief, Brig. Gen. Tayeeb, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that halting arrests would not bring new recruits and would undermine enforcement.
The arrest freeze bill is part of a larger package of Haredi draft-related legislation, including the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study. On July 9, a softened version of the Basic Law advanced in the Knesset. Haredi sources have previously stated that the freeze bill is independent of the Basic Law, but the two are politically linked.
Bart's critique focuses on the legislative process itself, charging that the law's transformation between preliminary stages circumvented parliamentary rules. The Knesset's internal mechanisms for handling such procedural challenges remain unclear.
2 developments
- StrongKnesset committee legal advisor opposes deserters bill, says it bypasses conscription law
- DevelopingPetitions filed to High Court to disqualify new 'Deserter Law'
- DevelopingKnesset legal adviser opposes coalition plan to pardon draft dodgers and annul conscription law
- DevelopingKnesset legal adviser: Arrest freeze bill lacked desertion arrest clause, new subject claim valid
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