Israel’s Knesset yesterday passed a controversial “Basic Law” providing:
Torah study is a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.
According to Times of Israel:
The legislation makes Torah study the only value explicitly enshrined in one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, which act in place of a written constitution. Haredi parties have pushed to pass the law as part of their broader effort to preserve blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, while opponents argue it effectively elevates Torah study above all other national values and will weaken efforts to penalize yeshiva students who disobey draft orders.
Efforts to draft Haredi men, and ultra-Orthodox resistance to that effort, has sparked a fierce debate in Israeli society and the halls of the Knesset, especially as the IDF has warned repeatedly that it faces an urgent manpower shortage….
While the final version of the legislation no longer explicitly equates Torah study with military service, following pressure from Likud, opponents argue that, even in its pared-down form, the law grants constitutional recognition to Torah study alone, elevating it above other national values, while tens of thousands of reservists continue to serve during the ongoing war….