Knesset Passes Basic Law on Torah Study in Preliminary Vote

The Knesset plenum approved in a preliminary vote the Basic Law: Torah Study, which anchors Torah study as a foundational value. Fifty-six Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, while 43 opposed it. MK Ilouz and MK Edelstein voted against.

The Knesset plenum approved in a preliminary vote the Basic Law: Torah Study, which anchors Torah study as a foundational value. Fifty-six Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, while 43 opposed it. In the original version of the law, there was also a comparison between the status of Torah students and those serving in the IDF, but following criticism, that clause was removed. The proposal now states that, "Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and a basic right in the State of Israel. The State of Israel, as a Jewish state, sees supreme importance in encouraging Torah study and Torah learners, and sees those who have chosen to devote themselves to Torah study for a long period as making a significant contribution to the State of Israel and the Jewish people."

Likud MKs Dan Illouz, Yuli Edelstein and Sharren Haskel opposed the bill, as did MK Moshe Solomon of Religious Zionism. MKs Yossi Taieb and Moshe Abutbul of Shas attacked MK Illouz, saying, "Shame on you! Rude! What a disgrace. The world of Torah in Canada is ashamed of you!"

MK Meir Porush responded to the bill’s approval and explained the circumstances that led to its advancement in the Knesset. Porush said that the Jewish people do not need laws to recognize that Torah study is a foundational value in the Jewish people. He added that, "Following the cruel conduct of the justice system and the systematic persecution over recent years against Torah learners, we were required to correct this with the Basic Law: Torah Study bill." Porush stressed that United Torah Judaism will continue to fight by all means against the persecution of Torah learners and expects the coalition and the government to act against this persecution.

Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri said: "The preliminary approval of the Basic Law: Torah Study, which was demanded by the Shas movement, is a historic step toward the State of Israel’s recognition of the supreme value of the holy Torah and the immense contribution of Torah learners to the Jewish people. The Torah is the secret of our existence, and it has preserved the Jewish people throughout the generations. The Shas faction will continue to act decisively until the legislation is completed and the Torah and its learners are given the respect they deserve."

MK Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionism party voted against it, saying: "The current wording equates someone who studies Torah with someone who serves in the army. In such a version, which constitutes a desecration of God's name and harm to the entire religious Zionist world of Torah, I cannot support it. The value of Torah study is a supreme value, it is so clear that it does not need to be anchored in legislation. But even when anchoring it, complete Torah study is that which combines practical life and security. 'Any Torah study that is not accompanied by work will ultimately cease and lead to sin' (Avot 2:2). When the bill comes up for first reading, I will examine it according to the changes made and decide how to vote."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked MK Moshe Gafni, who claimed that Torah was studied even in the Warsaw Ghetto and that this was the Jewish people's true strength: "Torah was studied in the Warsaw Ghetto? In the Warsaw Ghetto, they did not receive a budget to study Torah, they took up arms and carried out the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for the Jewish people. That is what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto. My father sat in the ghetto because there was no army for the State of Israel. You brought the Holocaust here, for the sake of stipends, funding and salaries."

The Forum for Service Partnership sharply criticized the law, calling it "a disgrace and shame for the Government of Israel, which is advancing at this time a Basic Law of evasion." The forum said the Zionist Knesset members in the government had decided to grant a sweeping exemption to the ultra-Orthodox public under the guise of a Basic Law on Torah study. The forum representatives emphasized the public timing of the legislation and said that, "All this, while the IDF is crying out for thousands of soldiers, Israel is fighting on all fronts, and the burden on the serving public is only growing heavier."

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman promised, "We will cancel all of your Basic Laws of evasion, not a trace of them will remain!"

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett addressed the ultra-Orthodox public: "The 'Basic Law: Torah Study' that the government is advancing with all its might will severely harm the State of Israel, and it will severely harm you as well. This is not a political issue, it is a matter of life and death. Without a functioning economy and without an army, we simply will not be able to live here."

"Deri and Goldknopf will try to tell you that my fight against evasion and this law is a fight against you. That is a lie. I am fighting for you. The problem is the functionaries who exploit you. Deri and Goldknopf condemn you to lives of poverty and dependence while they live in luxury villas and wear luxury brands. That is not Torah, that is a business model. And it must change. We will free you from the rule of the functionaries, bring you with us into the labor market and IDF service, alongside maintaining a Haredi way of life, just like working Haredim in Brooklyn."