Haredi parties back down: Quasi-constitutional bill won’t put Torah study on par with IDF service

By Ariela Karmel

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9 July 2026, 6:02 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri speaks with United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni in the Knesset, December 14, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A controversial Basic Law bill will no longer explicitly place Torah study on par with military service, as ultra-Orthodox parties appear to have capitulated to demands to remove the key section from the quasi-constitutional legislation.

The bill would still declare Torah study to be a “foundational value” of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. If passed, it will be added to Israel’s Basic Laws, which act as the country’s supreme laws in place of a constitution. Haredi parties have pushed to pass the law amid an ongoing debate over whether yeshiva students should continue to receive blanket exemptions from IDF conscription.

According to a statement from coalition whip and Likud MK Ofir Katz, Haredi parties have agreed to remove a clause from the bill stating that the law seeks to “create a balance of justice” between this Basic Law “relative to other fundamental values in the state.” Legal officials warned that the clause could have entitled yeshiva students to financial and other benefits equal to or even exceeding those granted to soldiers.

In a joint statement, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Degel HaTorah faction say they ultimately agreed, “under the instruction of the leading Torah sages,” to remove the clause.

Likud MK Dan Illouz, who broke coalition discipline to vote against the bill in its first reading last week, dismisses the compromise as “window dressing.”

Arguing that removing the key clause “does not change the essence of the law,” he warns that enshrining Torah study as a quasi-constitutional value without explicitly stating that it cannot be used to justify draft exemptions would still “serve in practice to legitimize draft evasion and continued funding and benefits” for yeshiva students.

The agreement follows several explosive committee sessions this week, during which reservists, combat veterans suffering from PTSD and opposition lawmakers opposed the legislation, arguing that it would elevate the status of yeshiva students while failing to provide comparable recognition or support for those who perform military service.

It also follows repeated warnings this week from Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik and representatives of the National Insurance Institute that the bill, as originally drafted, could have significant legal consequences, including granting yeshiva students a wide range of financial benefits, including when for housing, at great additional cost to the taxpayer.