Defense Service Law (Amendment No. 28 – Temporary Provision)

What does the bill do?

Under the Defense Service Law (Amendment No. 28 – Temporary Provision), 2026, and in light of the start of arrests among yeshiva students due to the absence of an arrangement for deferring their service, a dedicated mechanism was set to freeze arrest, investigation and enforcement proceedings against yeshiva students designated for security service, over offenses of absence from service. In addition, it was set that if the person designated for service has already been indicted, the proceedings against them will be stopped. The arrangement was set as a temporary provision that will remain in force until November 30, 2026. The arrangement's application to a person designated for service is conditional on meeting conditions, distinguishing between two periods: for the period from the expiry of the previous arrangement, on July 1, 2023, until the date the temporary provision takes effect, the arrangement will apply to a person designated for service who proves that they studied Torah regularly for no less than 45 hours a week, or 40 hours a week for those studying in a kollel, and for whom an affidavit was submitted by the head of the yeshiva where they study attesting that they meet this condition. From the start of the temporary provision onward, the arrangement will apply to those who meet the study conditions as stated as well as the condition of having no other occupation. The law sets that requests to freeze proceedings will be submitted online within 30 days of the temporary provision taking effect. It is also set that the Minister of Defense will compile the list of yeshivas to be included in the arrangement, taking into account the recommendation of the Yeshiva Council in the Land of Israel. In addition, it is set that the Chief of the General Staff will establish a dedicated military committee of three senior officers, which will examine individually whether the applicants meet the conditions. The committee will be headed by an officer with the rank of at least colonel, appointed by the Military Advocate General, alongside two officers with the rank of at least lieutenant colonel, appointed by the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate. In this context, the law clarifies that the mere submission of a request to freeze proceedings, or the committee's decision on it, will not be considered a request for exemption from service or a regularization of status under any law. For oversight and control, the Minister of Defense was authorized to appoint inspectors to conduct inspections in yeshivas, and may also authorize Ministry of Education inspectors with experience in this field as inspectors, and draw on the Ministry of Education's inspection mechanism. The law further sets that a yeshiva found to have repeated non-attendance of 20% or more of its students will receive a warning, and if the absence continues, it will be removed from the list of recognized yeshivas, and its students will be given an opportunity to enroll in another yeshiva. Finally, the law enshrines a reporting obligation under which the Minister of Defense will report to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee once every two months on the number of inspectors authorized, the inspections carried out and their results, and the warnings given to yeshivas and their results.