Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on Monday that chareidi yeshiva students who have not resolved their military status or obtained a valid exemption will lose access to discounts from national insurance.
The decision was issued in response to a petition filed by Israel Hofsheet and the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG). The ruling will not take effect immediately—the State has been given 30 days to announce the start date.
The petitioners argued that since the expiration of the draft law in June 2023, there has been no legal basis for exemptions, which means there is no justification for benefits either. According to Israel Hofsheet, the subsidies effectively “constitute a state subsidy for unlawful draft evaders.”
MQG first petitioned the court in January, pointing to a June 2024 decision that barred the government from offering financial incentives that encourage avoiding military service. According to MQG, the discounts amount to more than NIS 100 million annually—roughly NIS 1,000 per student—with a discount rate of 67 percent.
In its ruling, the court emphasized that the government cannot provide monetary incentives to avoid army service. “We will stop all privileges for draft evaders, even if the government continues to drag its feet. Petition after petition, all incentives for those who choose to shirk their military service during wartime will be stopped. The time for equality has come,” said Uri Keidar, executive director of Israel Hofsheet.
Just over a month ago, the court upheld a separate petition from Israel Hofsheet, ruling that state funding must end for certain chareidi yeshivos created for at-risk youth who do not enlist—most notably the Noham institutions for disengaged students. That funding was ordered to be cut off this month.
The petition in that case highlighted that many of the young men in those programs are not consistently engaged in Torah learning and often work off-the-books, contrary to the terms for exemption. The Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry had previously allocated about NIS 35 million to those schools.
Attorney Ori Hess, who leads the economics division at MQG, welcomed the latest outcome: “This is a significant victory for the principle of equality and for protecting public funds. The High Court confirmed our position that evasion of military service should not be financially rewarded. The decision will return more than 100 million shekels a year to the state treasury and strengthen the principle of equal burden. This is a good day for Israeli democracy and for every citizen who believes in social justice.”
Like the “real” chashmonoim – will triumph over the yevonim
Still no reason to shmad. Why don’t Chreidi ministers speak up and accuse the court of discrimination? Why aren’t they going after the Arabs and secular who have the same amount of draft-dodgers?
It is high time to make a Co-op for their insurance. It is a stupid move, because men between ages 18-28, who don’t have babies, use very little medical expense. Therefore they usually subsidize the insurance of others. They need to make a co-op for them, & get deals with doctors & pharmacies. The national insurance will be the losers.