Thousands of yeshiva students and young haredi families received official notices from the Construction and Housing Ministry over the past 24 hours informing them that their eligibility to participate in the government's "Discounted Apartment" housing lottery program had been immediately revoked.
According to the notices, their eligibility was canceled because they had not settled their status with the conscription authorities.
The move follows a policy decision adopted by government ministries about a month ago, which is now being implemented.
The notices stated: "This notice is being sent to you following an update in the system. Your eligibility to participate in the 'Discounted Apartment' lotteries has been canceled immediately due to your failure to settle your status with the conscription authorities."
Now, thousands of young haredi families, some of whom had already received official eligibility certificates and registered for housing lotteries in various cities, will no longer be able to participate. The move has been met with anger by haredi political leaders and community representatives, who are claiming it is selective enforcement.
Haredi sources argued that the decision marks an escalation in what they described as an "economic punishment campaign" against Torah learners, following the cuts to daycare subsidies, reductions in funding for yeshivot, and attempts to curtail tax benefits. According to them, excluding haredi families from the housing program harms families already struggling with the cost of living and the burden of taxes.
MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) condemned the decision, saying: "The Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish People. Every Jew has a share in this land, and the Housing Ministry's notice amounts to robbing each one of us. Every Jew has the right to live in the Land of Israel, and therefore every Jew is entitled to all the rights the State grants in matters relating to land."