The Knesset passed in its preliminary reading on Wednesday a bill that seeks to enshrine Torah study in Basic Law, as part of a proposal pushed by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties that seeks to encourage draft evasion and change the status of Yeshiva students who do not serve, enabling them to continue receiving state benefits.
The legislation passed with 56 lawmakers in favor and 43 against. It was sponsored by Degel Hatroah leader MK Moshe Gafni and had received government backing ahead of the vote.
A separate bill under the same name that is sponsored by the haredi Sephardic Shas Party is also expected to be advanced and will most likely be merged with Gafni’s bill.
Shas’s proposal had contained contentious wording calling for equality of rights between IDF soldiers who serve and haredim who evade military service, which sparked outrage from both coalition and opposition lawmakers on Monday.
Leader of the Shas Party, Arye Deri, has demanded that legislation be advanced, and said on Monday that its passage was a condition for party lawmakers to join coalition votes.
The far-right Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said on Tuesday that it would not support a bill that calls for equality of rights between IDF soldiers who serve and haredim who evade military service.
The contentious wording was subsequently removed, but the move to enshrine Torah Study into the country’s Basic Law would still have sweeping implications on the status of haredim who evade service in the country.
Who voted against the Torah Study bill?
While some Religious Zionist Party MKs voted in favor of the bill during the vote, MK Moshe Solomon voted against.
MK Dan Illouz and MK Yuli Edelestein, members of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, also voted against the legislation.
Gafni’s bill states that it seeks to enshrine into the Basic Law the status of Torah study as “a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people.”
It proposes that the State of Israel “recognize those who commit themselves to long-term dedication to Torah study as performing significant service to the state and the Jewish people.”
The existing wording, enshrined in the country’s Basic Law, would ease the ability to grant benefits and rights to haredi men who evade service.
Haredi party leaders have continuously pushed for 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.
What is the status of the Haredi draft in Israel?
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.
Moving forward with the legislation also comes as the High Court of Justice ordered in April 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 advancement of Basic Law: Torah Study legislation 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 improve 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.
Source:
www.jpost.com
