Israel’s parliament on Monday night gave final approval to a new Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the Jewish state.
The 120-member Knesset passed the Basic Law: Torah Study in its second and third readings by a vote of 63-52.
While Israel does not have a formal written constitution, the set of Basic Laws passed since the country’s founding in 1948 have quasi-constitutional status.
The legislation, sponsored by lawmakers Yaakov Asher and Moshe Gafni of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, states that “Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”
The final version of the legislation no longer recognizes long-term Torah study as a “significant service” to the state, after some lawmakers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party objected to the provision.
However, opposition lawmakers said the measure was intended to preserve broad exemptions for Haredi yeshivah students from compulsory military service by enshrining Torah study as a fundamental state value, making it more difficult for the High Court of Justice to strike down the arrangement.
Israel’s outgoing coalition government in March moved to pass the 2026 state budget without a highly debated draft-exemption law, which was temporarily shelved.
“We are now putting aside controversial issues that are not suitable for wartime,” said Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing both the legislation that would exempt yeshivah students from Israel Defense Forces service, as well as several unspecified proposed reforms.
The enlistment bill that was under consideration reflected Netanyahu’s attempt to forge a compromise with his ultra-Orthodox political partners.
However, in April, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ordered the government to take a series of measures against draft dodgers, in response to petitions accusing the state of contempt of court for failing to enforce existing conscription laws.
The decision came in the wake of a November ruling ordering the state to formulate sanctions to enforce military conscription, stressing that state benefits should not be granted to those evading service.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox sector generally considers national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel and the ensuing War of Redemption have heightened demands by the general public that Haredim contribute to the Jewish nation’s defense.
Since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel, more than 1,000 Haredim have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number has volunteered for civilian national service. An estimated 80,000 Haredi men eligible for military service have not enlisted.
