Marathon Knesset meetings set to rapidly advance haredi parties’ contentious Torah study bill

The bill seeks to enshrine Torah study in the country’s Basic Law as part of a proposal that critics argue encourages draft evasion and changes the status of yeshiva students who do not serve, enabling them to continue receiving state benefits.

The first committee meeting on Sunday to advance the legislation is set to take place over the course of eight hours, from morning until evening. There are then two more meetings set for Monday and Tuesday.

Opposition coordinator Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid) subsequently sent a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) on Thursday, in which she argued that the lawmakers did not have enough time to prepare in advance for so many discussions beginning already on Sunday.

On Tuesday, leaders of Degel Hatorah and Shas, MKs Moshe Gafni and Arye Deri, released a joint statement saying they had held a meeting with Netanyahu.

The two stated that the prime minister had “made it clear at the meeting that he is committed to approving the laws and will work to advance them quickly.”

There had previously been contentious wording in the bill’s proposal that equated those who study Torah with those who serve in the IDF, which has now been removed in the new draft of the legislation.

Critics argue that the implications of the legislation would still grant sweeping state benefits to draft evaders, despite the change of wording.

The bill passed its preliminary reading earlier this month and must still be advanced in a Knesset committee before undergoing three more required readings in order to come into effect.

Rothman argued that the decision to transfer the legislation to the House Committee for advancement was “in light of complex scheduling constraints and the creation of an unusual burden on the legislative agenda of the committee.”

However, there have been reports that his decision not to advance the bill in his committee was part of an attempt by Rothman’s Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to distance itself from the contentious legislation.

The House Committee, in contrast, is led by coalition whip MK Ofir Katz, a member of the Likud party.

Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik warned against moving the legislation to the House Committee, stating that the legal advisory position is that the bill should be discussed in the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee.

Afik also stressed that the legislation was a significant Basic Law, and “therefore, the legislative process must also be proper and appropriate.”

The haredi parties have 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.

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

The tensions also come amid the coalition’s last Knesset session to advance its legislation before the upcoming elections, scheduled for no later than October 27.