The High Court of Justice's ruling barring an exemption from military service for the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) sector will not disconnect Israel from studying the Torah, Shas leader Arye Deri said in reaction to the ruling's publication on Monday.
"The Jewish People have survived persecutions, pogroms on wars only by virtue of maintaining what made us unique - our Torah and our mitzvahs," Deri wrote. "This is a secret weapon against all enemies.
"Even here, in the Jewish State, we will continue to guard our society. They are the ones who preserve our special powers and create miracles."
Meir Porush: High Court is leading Israel to divide into two states
Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush said the ruling is "leading to two states" of religious and secular Jews.
"The High Court ruling inevitably leads to two states here. One is the state that continues as it is now. And another state where yeshiva students will continue to study Torah as they did in the state declared by Ben-Gurion. No power in the world can force a person whose soul desires Torah study to avoid it."
The High Court of Justice on Tuesday ordered a full draft of the ultra-Orthodox (haredim) into the IDF and the freezing of all funds for institutions that do not comply starting as of April 1.
Three of the court's most conservative voices - Justices Noam Sohlberg, Alex Stein, and Yael Wilner—were among the roughest and most aggressive critics of the government on the issue. Despite that, a senior political source from the haredi factions told Maariv that the ruling is "unlikely to lead to a crisis within the coalition."
Kikar HaShabbat, a haredi news outlet, responded with its headline: “The State of Israel and the Supreme Court vs the world of Torah and yeshivas.”
'Justices don't understand the values of the Torah'
United Torah Judaism head, Construction, and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf wrote on X that the ruling was "expected and very unfortunate.
"The State of Israel was established to be a home for the Jewish people whose Torah is the bedrock of its existence. The Holy Torah will prevail," he added.
Before the publication of the High Court's ruling, Finance Committee chair MK Moshe Gafni wrote on X that Israel's Supreme Court "had never ruled in favor of yeshiva students and the haredi sector. There is no justice who understands the value of the Torah and the contribution of those who study it to the people of Israel."
After the ruling was released, Gafni simply wrote: "As aforementioned."