“Since no concrete steps have been proposed indicating an intention to enforce the obligation to enlist… there is no alternative but to order practical measures,” the court said in its ruling.
There is a long-standing exemption from compulsory national service for ultra-Orthodox men who engage in full-time religious study, which dates back to Israel’s founding in 1948.
However, the Supreme Court has repeatedly challenged the exemption this century culminating in a 2024 ruling that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, relies on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties to sustain his government and so has fought efforts to end the exemption.
With the latest ruling on Sunday, the court is effectively ordering the removal of subsidies granted to the ultra-Orthodox that give them reduced rates for local taxes, public transport and childcare.
Judge Noam Solberg said the ruling did not amount to “sanctions” but a “loss of benefits.”
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