{"id":205003,"date":"2026-07-13T20:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/205003\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:03:12","slug":"knesset-passes-basic-law-enshrining-torah-study-despite-idf-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/205003\/","title":{"rendered":"Knesset passes Basic Law enshrining Torah study despite IDF warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Knesset\u2019s<\/a> plenum passed on Monday the contentious legislation advanced by the haredi<\/a> (ultra-Orthodox) parties that will enshrine Torah study as a fundamental value in the country\u2019s Basic Law.<\/p>\n

The bill passed in its final readings with 63 lawmakers in favor and 52 against.<\/p>\n

Critics argue the Basic Law: Torah Study<\/a> bill encourages draft evasion and changes the status of yeshiva students who do not serve, enabling them to continue receiving state benefits even amid the IDF\u2019s severe manpower shortage.<\/p>\n

Its passage comes after weeks of threats from haredi party leaders to boycott coalition voting and disrupt the legislative agenda in an attempt to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s coalition to rapidly advance a series of haredi-backed bills.<\/p>\n

The bill states that \u201cTorah study is a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.\u201d Israel does not have a constitution. Instead, it has a series of Knesset-legislated basic laws on various subjects that hold a high legal status.<\/p>\n

\"MKMK Yair Lapid attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 13, 2026. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Yair Lapid<\/a> and a group of other opposition party leaders signed a letter ahead of the vote calling on coalition Knesset members to \u201cact responsibly and not vote in favor of legislation that would severely harm the IDF during wartime, in defiance of the dramatic warning issued by the IDF chief of staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shameful role of those who support the draft-evasion law will remain forever before the eyes of the citizens of Israel who serve in the military and participate in the workforce,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

Coalition blitzing to pass legislation before Knesset recess<\/p>\n

The bill is part of the coalition\u2019s legislative blitz to pass its legislation during the Knesset\u2019s last week before it goes into recess ahead of the elections.<\/p>\n

The agenda has been packed with contentious bills, such as the bill to weaken the role of the attorney-general, along with legislation for a sweeping reform of Israel\u2019s broadcasting sector.<\/p>\n

Haredi parties have boycotted votes on coalition legislation when their bills were not advancing quickly enough.<\/p>\n

The Torah Study bill had previously called for \u201ccreating a balance\u201d in Torah study as a fundamental value, leading to severe legal warnings.<\/p>\n

That clause threatened to stall the bill\u2019s progress before it was removed after a coalition agreement with the haredi parties last week.<\/p>\n

Both coalition and opposition lawmakers have warned that even with the change to the wording, the essence of the law has not been altered.<\/p>\n

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) warned that a concern remains that \u201celevating Torah study to constitutional status could be used as a basis to justify future attempts to exempt haredim from the IDF and to continue funding yeshivas and subsidies for haredi draft evaders, as well as [for] education institutions that do not teach the core curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Torah study bill is part of a series of haredi-backed bills being advanced, amid numerous reports of agreements between the haredi parties and Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

There had also previously been contentious wording in the bill\u2019s proposal that equated those who study Torah with those who serve in the IDF. This comparison has since been removed from the legislation\u2019s new draft.<\/p>\n

Critics argued that the legislation could implicitly allow the comparison despite the change in wording.<\/p>\n

Coalition members publicly opposed legislation<\/p>\n

Lawmakers in Netanyahu\u2019s coalition have publicly opposed the legislation and voted against it.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu did not arrive at the Knesset plenum to take part in the vote. \u00a0Last month, he voted in favor of the legislation when it passed its first reading.<\/p>\n

Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a leading rival candidate against Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, slammed the premier for not showing up for the vote, calling him a “coward.”<\/p>\n

“Here is another stain that will never be erased,” he added.<\/p>\n

The haredi parties have continuously encouraged the coalition to advance legislation that would not increase haredi enlistment. The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage after more than two years of war.<\/p>\n

In April, the High Court of Justice ordered that the state take concrete steps to revoke key financial benefits from draft evaders and move toward criminal enforcement against haredi men who evade military service.<\/p>\n

In March, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF could soon collapse if no solution was found for the manpower shortage.<\/p>\n

Separate legislation has been advanced that would temporarily freeze the arrests of haredi draft evaders.<\/p>\n

The bill to freeze such arrests is set to be voted on in the Knesset plenum in its final second and third readings after a week of marathon committee meetings on the matter.<\/p>\n

Zamir warned on Monday that the bill to freeze the arrest of draft evaders would harm recruitment and create serious security risks for the IDF, penning a letter to Defense Minister Israel Katz on the matter.<\/p>\n

Following the passage of the law, opposition party leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu condemned the legislation amid the military’s manpower shortage, warning that it harms the IDF and creates a security risk.<\/p>\n

Opposition party leaders have also vowed to repeal the law after the elections, which are set for October 27.<\/p>\n

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together Party, stated that the government was entering the history books as “the most anti-Zionist government in the history of the State of Israel, a government that has acted against those who serve the country and against the Torah.”<\/p>\n

“This is a deliberate and conscious blow to the IDF throughout the war and up to this day.”<\/p>\n

“We will ensure that the outgoing government is investigated not only over October 7 itself, but also over its actions after October, foremost among them its abandonment of the IDF and its soldiers,” he added.<\/p>\n

Yisrael Beytenu leader and former defense minister MK Avidgor Liberman said that the “draft-evasion coalition is carrying out a liquidation sale of the State of Israel and the most fundamental values of Israeli society.”<\/p>\n

“This is not a Basic Law on Torah study. It is a law that betrays IDF soldiers, harms combat troops, reservists, and Israel’s security.”<\/p>\n

“In the next government, we will repeal this law, strengthen the IDF, and take care of those who serve, not those who evade service,” he said.<\/p>\n

Democrats party leader and former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan addressed Shas party leader Arye Deri, saying his grandchildren should be ready for their draft orders, coming on October 28 – the day after the election.<\/p>\n

James Genn contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knesset\u2019s plenum passed on Monday the contentious legislation advanced by the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties that will enshrine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[29674,18888,16707,12272,423,37,4028,4029,10844,500,14788,39659],"class_list":["post-205003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-2026-israeli-elections","tag-basic-law","tag-gadi-eisenkot","tag-haredi","tag-idf","tag-israel","tag-knesset","tag-naftali-bennett","tag-opposition","tag-torah","tag-ultra-orthodox","tag-yeshiva-students"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116914461569371509","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}