Knesset Advances Basic Law on Torah Study to First Reading Amid Controversy

The Basic Law on Torah Study, which aims to grant Torah students rights equivalent to those serving in the military, was brought to a first reading vote in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday and is expected to be voted on again tomorrow. This law is intended to replace the existing conscription law, despite opposition from the government legal adviser Gali Baharav-Miara, who stated that legally it is unacceptable for the government to simultaneously increase the burden on soldiers while enabling widespread draft evasion, which some argue it even encourages.

Last week, it was reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised ultra-Orthodox parties to expedite the Basic Law on Torah Study and the law to cancel the detention of draft evaders, following a boycott by these parties that escalated with the coalition's Red Cross law failing its first reading vote. The coalition is also working to advance the law to cancel the detention of draft evaders in recent days.

On Friday evening, Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs wrote to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth urging him to promote the law. The letter emphasized that criminal enforcement would cease for those proven to be yeshiva students whose Torah study is their profession, not for ultra-Orthodox individuals who are not yeshiva students, alongside "effective supervision." However, the ultra-Orthodox parties have so far refused any form of supervision such as fingerprint attendance checks, and it remains unclear how such "effective supervision" would be implemented.

Additionally, preliminary approval was given for supervision and a prohibition on work within the Basic Law on Torah Study. The draft law to cancel the detention of draft evaders has also been circulated for review.