Israel’s parliament approves laws to enshrine exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service
The measures could protect thousands of Haredi draft evaders from arrest and bolster legal claims for Torah study, officials said.
- The Knesset passed the Basic Law: Torah Study with a 63-52 vote, declaring Torah study a fundamental value of the State of Israel, as proposed by MK Moshe Gafni and backed by Haredi parties.
- The legislation was narrowed from its original draft following legal advisers' recommendations, removing clauses such as the explicit comparison of Torah study to military service and the requirement to balance Torah study with other constitutional values.
- Opposition and some Likud members opposed the bill, while coalition and ultra-Orthodox parties view it as a step towards exempting yeshiva students from military service.
- IDF Chief Eyal Zamir objected to related draft legislation suspending enforcement against draft evaders, warning it conflicts with military needs.
64 Articles
64 Articles
Torah study and legal immunity: What are the new laws shaking Israel?
Two new laws aimed at laying the groundwork for renewing a blanket exemption from having to draft to the IDF for Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) young men were approved this week, reigniting one of Israel’s longest-running political and constitutional disputes, one that is increasingly expected to shape Israel’s next elections. The first law, passed Monday, is the Basic Law: Torah Study, which declares that “Torah study is a fundamental value in the her…
The Haredi challenge is becoming Israel’s national security crisis
Israel has spent decades bracing for the enemies it can see: Iranian centrifuges, Hamas tunnels, Hezbollah rockets. It has built one of the most sophisticated defense establishments on earth to battle them. But the danger that may do the most lasting damage is growing inside the Knesset, the yeshivahs and the birth statistics themselves—and no missile-defense system can stop it.That threat is Haredi exceptionalism. And Israel’s leaders built it …
The Israeli parliament narrowly voted on Tuesday for a law with near-constitutional status, which elevates Torah study to a fundamental value.
The text, strongly criticized by the opposition, was adopted at last reading by 58 votes to 54, a few days before the dissolution of the Knesset in preparation for the general elections on 27 October.
The government forces the approval in Parliament of the law that exempts him from military service. A maneuver of political survival, to prevent the majority from crumbling before the elections, set for October 27. A move however unpopular and criticized by the leaders of the armed forces
The Israeli Knesset has passed a regulation temporarily halting the detention and prosecution of ultra-Orthodox Jews who evade military service. These decisions, along with a second regulation defining Torah education as one of the state's "fundamental values," are seen as an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gain the support of religious parties ahead of the October elections.
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