Knesset Advances Basic Law on Torah Study in Preliminary Vote Amid Uproar

With Arab lawmakers abstaining and despite a revolt by some coalition members, the Knesset plenum approved on Wednesday afternoon, in a preliminary reading, the Basic Law: Torah Study, which stipulates that Torah study will be regarded as meaningful service and a foundational value of the Jewish people. Fifty-six lawmakers supported the bill, while 43 opposed it. Four coalition lawmakers voted against it, among them Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz of Likud, Sharon Haskel of the State Camp, and Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionism party. A deal between United Torah Judaism and the Arab parties ensured that the opposition would not affect the vote. Hours later, Smotrich announced that he was removing MK Solomon from all Knesset committees on which he serves, saying he had voted against the faction’s position.

Sources in the opposition said that during a meeting of the faction heads of Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am, Ahmed Tibi and Waleed Taha confirmed they had a deal with MK Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism, who promised to help torpedo the muezzin bill that the coalition seeks to advance. In return, the Arab parties did not take part in the vote on the Basic Law: Torah Study. MKs Gafni and Tibi declined to comment on the matter. Uproar broke out in the plenum during the vote, and MKs Yossi Taieb and Moshe Abutbul of Shas shouted at MK Illouz: "Shame on you, impudent man. What a disgrace. The world of Torah is ashamed of you."

Also, after Gafni mentioned the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in his remarks as justification for the Basic Law: Torah Study, opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked, saying: "My father sat in a ghetto because there was no army for the State of Israel. My grandfather died in a concentration camp because there was no army for the State of Israel. This law is a law for funding draft evasion."

MK Gadi Eisenkot responded to the passage of the bill: "The deal of a few more weeks in power, in exchange for the Basic Law: Torah Study, is a summary of the history of the most disconnected, irresponsible and shameful government. Instead of strengthening the IDF in a full-scale war, the government is acting in the opposite direction and harming the strength and spirit of the state. The October 7 coalition has no respect for the lives and security of Israelis and certainly has no public trust. We will replace it and establish for Israel a worthy leadership, committed to the security and values of this people."

Israel Beiteinu said: "The Bibi-Tibi alliance continues, this time at the expense of those who serve and the reservists. The Arab and Haredi parties struck a deal, they will not vote there, and when the muezzin bill comes up, the Haredi parties will not vote. We will put an end to the rule of draft dodgers and anti-Zionists."

MK Gilad Kariv of The Democrats said: "Woe to Torah when a group of petty functionaries and corrupt politicians turns it into a tool for draft evasion and idleness. The claim that a substantive change was made in the law is a complete lie. The bill explicitly states that evasion of military service in favor of yeshiva studies will be recognized as a significant contribution to the State of Israel. Even when the spit hits the face from a different angle, it is still spit, and once again the government of Israel and its coalition are spitting in the face of the serving public and the bereaved families. They will pay for it on election day."

The Movement for Quality Government said: "A coalition on the way to elections, and without a public mandate, is promoting a last-minute legislative blitz whose sole purpose is to entrench draft evasion. The essence of the law is creating a counterweight to Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, in order to bypass the principle of equality and prevent conditioning benefits on enlistment, precisely at the moment when economic sanctions are beginning to work and are leading to an increase in Haredi enlistment. It is important to emphasize, one law must apply to everyone. It is forbidden that while fighters and reservists carry the burden, a legislative mechanism grants a sweeping exemption to an entire public and creates constitutional anchoring for draft evasion. We will continue to stand guard until equality in burden is enforced, and we will act against any attempt to bypass the Supreme Court ruling through legislation."

Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri welcomed the vote, saying: "The preliminary approval of the Basic Law: Torah Study, which Shas demanded, is a historic step toward the State of Israel recognizing the supreme value of the holy Torah and the enormous contribution of Torah learners to the people of Israel. The Torah is the secret of our existence as a Jewish people, and it has preserved the Jewish people throughout the generations. The Shas faction will continue to act resolutely until the completion of the law’s legislation and the granting of proper respect to the Torah and its learners."

Deputy Minister Israel Eichler added: "The Basic Law: Torah Study, which passed in the Knesset, aroused violent opposition from the enemies of Torah and its learners. In contrast, most of the elected representatives of the Jewish people stood up and supported it out of love for the Torah and its learners. This is not just another bureaucratic law, but a law expressing the cry of the entire Jewish people from one end of the world to the other. It is a law demanding an end to the cruel persecution against Torah learners in the Holy Land. It is intended to restore the honor of Torah scholars, which has been trampled into the dust in the Holy Land under the boots of dictatorial legal advisers who seized power. The raised hands of the majority of the Israeli public’s representatives in the Knesset in favor of Torah study prove to the entire world: the people of Israel respect Torah learners, love Torah learners and value their toil. The majority of the Jewish public raised its hand in favor of the Torah of Moses. This is a day of sanctification of God’s name. This is a declaration of holy war against those who blaspheme God, persecute Torah and are enemies of its learners."

The law was first introduced in July 2023 by MK Moshe Roth of United Torah Judaism, who then said it was an implementation of the coalition agreement. "This important law sets a new approach to Torah study," Roth said. Likud then rushed to clarify that "the bill is not on the table and will not be advanced."