Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox launch legislative push amid legal doubts

The Knesset House Committee, chaired by coalition whip Ofir Katz, is set to hold a marathon of at least three hearings next week to advance the Basic Law on Torah Study, part of a deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties that was first reported by ynet. The move comes even though Knesset legal adviser Adv. Sagit Afik already said in an earlier hearing that there is a legal problem with moving the bill from the Constitution Committee to the House Committee.

The Torah Study bill is only one element of the broader package. The ultra-Orthodox also want a law freezing arrests of draft dodgers who can prove they are studying Torah through an oversight mechanism, but ynet learned that Afik has told coalition lawmakers she opposes that legislation as well. Netanyahu and the coalition intend to proceed despite the objections, although the report says the legal feasibility is essentially nonexistent. With only 15 Knesset sitting days left before the final dissolution date on July 17, the entire ultra-Orthodox legislative agenda is now in question.

The Torah Study bill is currently prepared for its first reading, which is why the committee is racing to complete the process. The arrest-freeze measure is being treated as an offshoot of the draft-exemption law and is already in preparation for second and third readings, but its chances are described as low because of the legal resistance and the need for more debate. By contrast, coalition legislation to split the attorney general’s role is in the second and third reading stage, and Likud MK Simcha Rothman is seen as having a medium-to-high chance of finishing it in time.

The coalition may also be able to pass in first reading a bill to establish a political commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre, allowing it to carry over into the next Knesset. Under the deal, the ultra-Orthodox dropped their push for a daycare subsidy law this term, in exchange for Torah Study in three readings, the anti-arrest bill and a kashrut law. They will back the attorney general split bill, and in first reading they will support the inquiry commission proposal, which was approved two weeks ago by the Constitution Committee. The updated text lets the State Comptroller leave vacancies unfilled and allows the commission to operate with only three of its six members, meaning it could function without opposition members. During the hearing, a legal representative warned that the bill undermines the idea of broad consensus and could be staffed entirely by the coalition.