Coalition Drops Clause Equating Torah Study With IDF Service From Basic Law

The Knesset plenum is expected to approve the Basic Law: Torah Study in a preliminary reading on Wednesday, but behind the scenes, Likud officials are reportedly advancing a softened version of the bill that would remove one of its most controversial clauses.

According to a report by Kikar HaShabbat, senior coalition officials say the revised version is intended to reduce public criticism of the bill and broaden support for it inside the coalition.

The clause expected to be removed is one that critics argued could be understood as equating someone who dedicates himself to Torah study with an IDF soldier. The current wording states that those who accept upon themselves a significant period of Torah study will be considered as serving the State of Israel and the Jewish people in a meaningful way, with implications for their rights and obligations.

The possible change is being advanced with the agreement of the haredi parties, according to the report, in an effort to make the bill more acceptable to additional coalition factions, including Religious Zionism.

The discussions over softening the bill come after a stormy week in which the haredi parties applied heavy pressure on the coalition to move the legislation forward. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri issued a sharp ultimatum, saying that if the Basic Law: Torah Study does not pass this week, no other legislation will be advanced.

“Precisely in these days, when the people of Israel need more merits for the success of the campaign against its enemies, we demand that Basic Law: Torah Study be brought to a vote this week, as a condition for supporting any other law,” Deri said at a Shas faction meeting.

Deri was the first to renew the demand to advance the bill last week, after which the other haredi factions also began pushing for its passage. The bill is formally registered under Degel HaTorah.

Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni said the bill had been placed on the agenda of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and that he had been instructed by leading Torah sages to submit and promote it.

Coalition officials believe that removing the disputed clause could allow Religious Zionism to support the proposal and help the coalition present a broader front behind the bill.

Likud sources said the goal is to enshrine the supreme value of Torah study without creating a direct comparison that could spark unnecessary public controversy.

The Basic Law: Torah Study is intended to give constitutional status to the position of Torah learners and their contribution to the Jewish people, while limiting the High Court of Justice’s ability to intervene in the haredi draft issue on the basis of equality.