A published proposal of the bill sponsored by lawmakers from the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), showed on Monday that the legislation seeks equality of rights between IDF soldiers who serve and haredim who evade military service.
Shas party leader Aryeh Deri on Monday demanded the rapid advancement of the legislation – despite the renewed conflict with Iran – which is expected to be brought to the Knesset’s plenum for its preliminary reading this week.
The legislation seeks to enshrine in the country’s Basic Law that long-term Torah study is considered meaningful service for the state, according to the bill’s proposal, first published by N12.
Such a recognition toward haredim is said to affect their rights, the benefits they receive, and it would also impact the enforcement of their conscription to the IDF. The law is also intended to regulate the High Court of Justice ruling that struck down previous arrangements aimed at haredim who evade service.
The bill’s proposal states that “whoever undertakes to devote themselves to Torah study for a significant period of time will be considered as those who are serving.”
Deri said that Shas was demanding that the legislation be advanced, and its passage was a condition for party lawmakers to join coalition votes.
“Precisely in these days, when the people of Israel need more merit for success in the campaign against their enemies, we are demanding that the Basic Law: Torah Study be brought to a vote as early as this week, as a condition for supporting any other legislation,” Deri said.
He added that he was calling on lawmakers in the “faith block” to unite around the law and “express support for it, so that we can continue advancing the important laws on the agenda.”
Haredi party leaders have continuously pushed for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to advance legislation that would not increase haredi enlistment. The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage, notably after more than two years of war.
In March, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF could soon collapse if there is no solution to the manpower shortage.
The move to add Torah study to a Basic Law is reportedly expected to be brought to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation for the government’s greenlight on Tuesday, after the meeting that was scheduled to be convened on the topic on Sunday was canceled.
Bill condemned as 'exemption law on steroids'
The expected advancement of the legislation has led to sharp condemnation from lawmakers in Netanyahu’s coalition, as well as from opposition party leaders, on Monday.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, a leading rival candidate in the upcoming elections, slammed the proposal, saying that the government was now advancing “an exemption law on steroids.”
He said the bill was “a desecration of the Torah and a desecration of the honor of IDF soldiers who are currently fighting in Lebanon.”
Bennett vowed that in the next government, “We will dismantle the ultra-Orthodox state that has grown within the State of Israel, bring our haredi brothers into employment and into IDF service, and thereby save the country.”
Yashar! party leader Gadi Eisenkot slammed the government for the proposed outline of the legislation as well, especially amid the recent renewed conflict with Iran.
“While many Israeli citizens were sitting in shelters today and our soldiers are fighting and risking their lives, the prime minister – who sent them and continues to send them into war – is working to legislate a Basic Law that will grant equal rights to IDF fighters and Torah scholars,” Eisenkot stated.
Yisarel Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman called the legislation “complete madness and disgraceful for the soldiers, reservists, and their families.”
MK Yuli Edelstien, a member of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, also condemned the advancement of the legislation, saying: “There is no line that the heads of the ultra-Orthodox factions will not cross.”
“The proposed law will only harm the world of Torah and produce the opposite result. The equation must be clear: Those who serve must receive more,” Edelstein added.
Legislation reportedly part of Netanyahu, haredi party deal
The advancement of the legislation that aims to enshrine Torah study into the country’s Basic Law is also reportedly part of an emerging deal between Netanyahu and the haredi parties, ahead of the upcoming Knesset dissolution vote in its second and third readings.
The agreement between Netanyahu and the parties is to push the election date to October 20, rather than hold it in September, as the haredi parties have sought. In return, they would receive advancement on the Basic Law: Torah Study, haredi daycare subsidies law, and the kashrut law, according to a Channel 12 report.
Lawmakers from Shas and UTJ told the Knesset House Committee last week that they wanted to move up the election date to September, before the High Holy Days. Numerous reports have stated that the haredi parties have pushed for this to lead to a better turnout among their voters.
Reportedly, Netanyahu has opposed the move and instead seeks to hold elections in late October, allowing the coalition more time to advance legislation during the Knesset’s final session and potentially achieve military goals.