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Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Religious Zionism party says it opposes bill equating Torah study with military service
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela 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.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party announces that it will not support the advancement of a law that equates the status of yeshiva students with soldiers, as the ultra-Orthodox parties push to advance controversial legislation enshrining Torah study as a Basic Law this week.
In a statement, the far-right party says it “will not allow the advancement of a law equating the status and conditions of those who avoid military service” to those of soldiers.
The party says it will only support legislation that establishes Torah study as a foundational value of the State of Israel if it “does not equate yeshiva students with IDF soldiers.”
The proposed law would establish Torah study as a foundational national value and define long-term Torah study as “meaningful service” to the state that is, controversially, equivalent to army service and confers upon those engaged in it equal rights and obligations to those who serve in the army.
According to Hebrew media reports, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party also object to the wording of the legislation, including ministers Ze’ev Elkin and Amichai Chikli, and are reportedly demanding that the disputed language be removed as a condition for their support.
Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur says the ultra-Orthodox parties have agreed to remove the disputed language, at Smotrich’s request.
However, as the bill has already been submitted for a preliminary reading, the explanatory notes cannot be amended before such a vote takes place. Any changes would therefore only be made later in the legislative process, meaning that lawmakers backing the bill in a preliminary vote would be supporting it with the contested language still attached.
The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties are demanding that the legislation be brought to a vote this week and Shas chair Aryeh Deri has repeatedly threatened to withdraw support for coalition legislation if it isn’t.
The move marks the latest effort by Haredi parties to preserve exemptions from military service for yeshiva students, which the High Court of Justice has deemed unconstitutional, and to reinstate state stipends that have been halted to families of draft dodgers.
The Times of Israel Community.