UTJ Lawmakers Introduce Twin Bills to Anchor Yeshiva Students’ Draft Status, Halt Arrests

United Torah Judaism MKs Meir Porush and Elyakim Stark submitted two bills Wednesday at the opening of the 26th Knesset, seeking to formalize the military-service standing of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students and kollel scholars.

The first measure would permit yeshiva students to defer conscription until age 26, at which point they would receive a full exemption. The second, drafted as a one-year emergency provision, would immediately freeze arrests, investigations, and criminal enforcement against eligible students while permanent legislation is negotiated.

Deferment bill sets study thresholds, retroactive protections

Under the deferment proposal, the defense minister would be empowered to grant annual postponements to students who devote at least 45 weekly hours to yeshiva study or 40 hours to kollel learning. Renewals would continue until the student turns 26, when a blanket exemption takes effect.

Transitional clauses aim to regularize the status of students retroactively for the period since the previous legal framework lapsed. Those who met the study requirements before the law’s enactment would be shielded from prosecution for failing to report for service; any ongoing proceedings or issued judgments would be halted. The bill also permits deferment applications even if a student missed registration deadlines during the legal vacuum.

The explanatory notes frame Torah study as a foundational national value since Israel’s founding, arguing that the state bears a moral and historical duty to enable those who wish to dedicate their lives to religious learning.

Companion bill pauses enforcement for one year

The second measure, dubbed the “Arrest Suspension Law,” would bar authorities from initiating enforcement under the Defense Service Law or the Military Justice Law against yeshiva students who were slated to report on or after July 1, 2023. Eligibility requires a declaration of full-time study—45 hours weekly at a yeshiva or 40 at a kollel—and no outside employment.

Sponsors describe the current impasse as a “Jewish and social emergency” that has deepened societal rifts. They contend that pausing enforcement will lower tensions while lawmakers pursue a durable arrangement.

Porush’s office said filing both bills at the Knesset’s outset signals that resolving yeshiva students’ status is a top parliamentary priority, removing the threat of sanctions so students can continue their studies uninterrupted.

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