The Price of Equality - Funding Conditionality as a Judicial Remedy in Israel’s Conscription Case

Abstract

Israel’s long-standing debate over ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students conscription has reached a critical juncture in June 2024. The Israeli Supreme Court not only declared the absence of a legal basis for a broad and overall exemption for Yeshiva students but also introduced a remedy that I claim might be controversial: the suspension of state funding for Yeshivas whose students are subject to conscription but refuse to comply with it. This marks a significant shift in the Court’s approach to enforcing equality in military service and the rule of law.

Keywords

• conditionality
• conscription
• funding conditionality
• Israeli Supreme Court
• Wehrpflicht
• Yeshivas