Overview
- The Knesset voted 63–53 on Wednesday to pass the Basic Law: Torah Study in its first reading and sent the bill to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for redrafting and further votes.
- Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky told lawmakers that the current text is declarative and 'does not change the existing situation,' so it does not by itself create legal protections for full‑time yeshiva students.
- The vote exposed fractures inside the governing coalition with several Likud and Religious Zionism MKs opposing the bill and some members absent, highlighting pressure and bargaining between ultra‑Orthodox parties and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Haaretz reported the move followed a deal Netanyahu made with ultra‑Orthodox leaders to secure support for broader overhaul legislation, while the Finance Ministry said it cannot estimate fiscal costs because the bill’s requirements remain undefined.
- If enacted as a Basic Law it could alter how courts and agencies weigh Torah study against other state values, a development that ties directly to ongoing debates over yeshiva exemptions, IDF manpower needs, and potential legal or administrative challenges.