After ultimatum, Basic Law on Torah study enters accelerated committee debate

Following an ultimatum from Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Thursday to speed up work on the proposed Basic Law on Torah study. The Knesset Constitution Committee is expected to hold four intensive sessions on the bill next week, as the coalition faces heavy political pressure near the end of the current session.

The push comes after a dramatic meeting between Netanyahu, Deri and Gafni, and amid demands from senior rabbinic leaders to urgently formalize the status of yeshiva students and prevent their arrests. According to political sources, the haredi parties are threatening to dissolve the Knesset next week if no practical steps are taken, although with only about 16 legislative days left in the session, their immediate demand is mainly to launch the committee process and advance it formally before the recess.

The updated draft removes a clause that had drawn opposition from Religious Zionism because it compared Torah learners with IDF fighters. The current wording instead emphasizes recognition of Torah study as a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, with the aim of creating a balance alongside other basic values in the country.

The law’s broader purpose is to anchor Torah study constitutionally. The move also responds to a legal issue the Supreme Court asked the Knesset to resolve after a series of rulings striking down previous arrangements on draft exemptions for yeshiva students, from Bagatz 1877/14 through the most recent decisions in 2024.