The Media Line: Torah Study Basic Law Passes Knesset as Step Towards Hareidi Draft Exemption  

Torah Study Basic Law Passes Knesset as Step Towards Hareidi Draft Exemption  

By The Media Line  

Israel’s Knesset approved the Basic Law: Torah Study in its second and third readings Monday evening, establishing Torah study as a fundamental state value in a move intended to boost the legal standing of yeshiva students as coalition and ultra-Orthodox parties pursue legislation exempting them from military service.  

The measure cleared the Knesset 63-52. Proposed by Degel HaTorah Chairman MK Moshe Gafni, it states that “Torah study is a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.”  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not cast a vote. Two Likud lawmakers, Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz, joined the opposition in voting against the legislation.  

Coalition and ultra-Orthodox parties believe recognizing Torah study in a Basic Law could assist efforts to defend a future exemption for yeshiva students against legal challenges alleging unequal treatment before the High Court of Justice.  

Haredi lawmakers had sought to prioritize the measure, which was the first bill granted final approval under a coalition arrangement previously revealed by Ynet.  

The Knesset’s legal advisers prompted changes to the legislation before its passage. The previous language would have placed Torah study in a constitutional balancing process alongside other values. That provision was removed, leaving the final law to formally recognize Torah study as a fundamental value.  

In a separate dispute over military conscription, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir wrote to Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth on Monday about proposed legislation to suspend the arrest of draft evaders.  

Zamir objected to a provision that would task the IDF with determining who qualifies as a yeshiva student and can have enforcement proceedings frozen. He said suspending arrests, investigations and criminal proceedings would remove consequences for failing to report for military service.  

“It provides an incentive not to report for military service, since it would grant immunity from prosecution and criminal proceedings,” Zamir wrote. “The proposal is therefore clearly and unequivocally inconsistent with the IDF’s needs.”  

Before the vote, opposition party leaders jointly called on coalition lawmakers to vote against the Basic Law.