From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Knesset panel advances Basic Law on Torah study despite legal objections
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.
The Knesset House Committee votes 10-4 to advance for its first Knesset reading a proposed Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel, subject to a vote on several revisions, following a heated debate.
The bill is expected to have its first plenum vote tomorrow, with the coalition aiming to pass it into law before the Knesset begins its pre-election recess on July 16.
Promoted by the ultra-Orthodox parties, the legislation is intended to shield draft evaders from sanctions and prosecution. Absent a constitution, Basic Laws in Israel have the highest legal status in the country.
“Torah study is what has preserved us throughout the entire history of the Jewish people, and now, in the Jewish state as well, Torah study will receive the status it deserves,” says United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni, a co-sponsor of the legislation, celebrating its advancement.
UTJ chair Yitzhak Goldknopf says during the committee meeting that the bill is needed because “Jews are arresting Jews for studying Torah” and claims that yeshiva students are being treated like “thieves” and “Hamas terrorists.”
Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky sharply criticizes the measure, arguing that it contains too many unresolved constitutional questions to proceed to a first reading, after the coalition rushed it through several marathon committee sessions this week.
“It’s impossible to move to a first reading before answering the question of what the purpose of the law is,” she says.
Sompolinsky argues that if, as the bill’s sponsors have indicated, it is intended to address the status of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society, then it requires a broader discussion of “rights and obligations,” but that “the bill as currently drafted does not answer” these fundamental questions.
Opposition lawmakers roundly denounce the legislation as a political maneuver to circumvent High Court rulings invalidating blanket exemptions from military service.
“This is a cynical attempt to rush through a Basic Law that would grant Torah scholars a special status,” says Yesh Atid MK Moshe Turpaz, who was ejected from the committee discussion by committee chair Likud MK Ofir Katz.
Calling it “the most dangerous” bill currently before the Knesset, Turpaz accuses its sponsors of “distorting justice” and “diminishing the status of combat soldiers and all other citizens of Israel.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman calls the proposal “Basic Law: Desecration of God’s Name,” pledging to “repeal all of these illegitimate laws” if a new government is formed after the October election.
The Times of Israel Community.