Torah study said set to be anchored in Basic Law, to cement Haredi draft exemptions
Bill planned for Knesset’s winter session is reportedly aimed at providing safety net in case High Court strikes down proposed law exempting Haredi youth from army service
The government plans to pass a bill that will enshrine the value of Torah study in a quasi-constitutional Basic Law, as a way to further cement military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, a report said Sunday.
The bill will be brought for a Knesset vote in the winter session of the parliament, which begins in October, Channel 12 news reported. It would define Torah study as a core state value.
The bill is aimed at countering possible judicial interference in a controversial proposed law that would regulate the drafting of members of the Haredi community into the army, exempting the vast majority of them.
Haredi parties conditioned their joining the coalition on the passing of an override clause as part of the government’s drastic overhaul of the judiciary. The clause would enable the Knesset to re-legislate laws even if they are struck down by the High Court of Justice. For the two Haredi parties, the override clause is seen as a key tool in shielding army exemption laws from judicial oversight. The Shas and United Torah Judaism parties hold a combined 18 seats in the Knesset, making them vital for the coalition, which has 64 seats out of 120 total.
The overhaul plan — and in particular the override clause — has been met with months of protest demonstrations by critics who say it will dangerously erode Israel’s democratic nature.
In an interview last week with US media, Netanyahu said that though some elements of the overhaul will continue, he “threw out” the override clause.
His remarks drew rebuke from coalition parties but also invigorated efforts to legislate the Torah study law as an alternative, Channel 12 said. Netanyahu on Sunday appeared to walk back the remarks, telling ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that the override was still in the overhaul package.
Via a holdover from agreements made in the early days of the Israeli state, the ultra-Orthodox community has long skirted mandatory military conscription by enrolling in full-time religious studies until past the enlistment age threshold.
In 2017, the High Court of Justice invalidated the current conscription law, which gives sweeping exemptions to full-time religious scholars. It gave the government a series of deadlines and extensions by which time it was to legislate a new enlistment law, and allowed the Defense Ministry to rely upon the current, struck-down law until a replacement is passed. The government’s 15th, and current, extension to legislate a solution is due to expire at the end of July. However, the government’s underlying, invalidated law had a provision forcing its expiration — and the government’s timeline — a month sooner, on June 30.
As a preemptive move, the government last month approved a decision enabling the military to continue excusing ultra-Orthodox Israelis from the IDF draft.
According to the text of the decision, the cabinet instructs Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to order the Israel Defense Forces to not enforce conscription within the community until March 31, 2024, by which time the government plans to have finalized a new enlistment law.
Concerned that without the override clause the High Court might interfere with the new enlistment law, Haredi parties are seeking the Torah study bill, Channel 12 said.
The plan will be to pass both laws, the Torah study first and then the enlistment law, according to the report.
During coalition-forming negotiations in December, Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich said he had reached an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to pass a law declaring that “Torah study is a fundamental principle in the heritage of the Jewish people.”
Religious Zionism gave no further details on the proposed law at the time, which some of Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners have backed as part of efforts to formally enshrine exemptions to mandatory military service for yeshiva students.
The government says the judicial overhaul is needed to rein in what it sees as an over-intrusive court. Critics say it would hand the government excessive powers and erode Israel’s democratic foundations.
