Israel's parliament voted 63-52 on July 13, 2026 to pass Basic Law: Torah Study, which declares "Torah study is a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel." It's the first time any value has been written into one of Israel's Basic Laws, which function as Israel's de facto constitution. Prime Minister Netanyahu didn't vote — as he typically doesn't on controversial coalition measures. Two of his own Likud lawmakers, Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz, voted against it. The High Court had ruled in 2017 that mass exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students violated equality rights, and in 2024 ruled those men were obligated to enlist. The Movement for Quality Government, an Israeli civic watchdog, filed a petition with the High Court within minutes of passage.

1. Torah Belongs in the Constitution (Moshe Gafni, Aryeh Deri, UTJ, Shas)

Haredi parties say the Jewish state has never formally recognized what makes it Jewish — until now.

Israel has never put a value in a Basic Law before. Haredi parties say it's past due. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri called the vote the first time "the Jewish state recognizes the supreme value of the holy Torah and the status of those who study it." UTJ lawmaker Moshe Gafni, who co-sponsored the bill, called it "a historic step." From their view, Israel has always implicitly rested on this foundation. The Basic Law just names what was already true.

The High Court forced their hand. Haredi parties pushed the law specifically to create a constitutional anchor against future High Court rulings that have repeatedly struck down or threatened to cut benefits and exemptions for yeshiva students. Proponents argue the court has been systematically hostile to religious accommodations, and that a Basic Law gives the Knesset's values the standing it currently lacks.

The coalition deal required it. Netanyahu struck a political agreement with his ultra-Orthodox partners to break a legislative deadlock; this law was the price of keeping his coalition intact before October 27 elections. Netanyahu's coalition dropped a provision before the final vote that would have equated yeshiva students directly with soldiers.

2. But This Is Draft Evasion by Another Name (Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman)

Secular and nationalist opponents say the law's plain purpose is shielding young men from military service during an active war.

This law keeps state money flowing to yeshiva students who don't serve. Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid said: "This is a law to finance draft evasion. It is not a law about Torah — it's a law about money." Lapid and his allies argue the "foundational value" framing gives the coalition a legal scaffold to preserve the benefits and exemptions the High Court has been trying to strip.

Wartime draft exemptions are a first for a Zionist state. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the government "the most anti-Zionist government in the history of the State of Israel, a government that has acted against those who serve the country and against the Torah." He vowed to rescind the law immediately if he forms the next government after October elections.

The opposition said the vote was disastrous timing. The opposition jointly warned coalition members before the vote not to deliver "a severe blow to the IDF during wartime and in defiance of the chief of staff's dramatic warning." Israel has been at war continuously since October 7, 2023, and the IDF has publicly documented severe manpower shortages after two years of fighting.

3. The IDF Can't Carry This Alone (IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Combat Veterans)

After two years of war, the IDF says it can't afford to let draft-eligible men sit out.

Freeze the arrests, and men stop reporting. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir wrote to Defense Minister Israel Katz that the companion draft-freeze legislation "provides an incentive not to report for military service, since it would grant immunity from prosecution and criminal proceedings," and said it was "clearly and unequivocally inconsistent with the IDF's needs."

Combat veterans confronted haredi lawmakers directly. Four days before the vote, veterans appeared at a Knesset House Committee session. One told haredi MKs: "You've been making promises for six years; how much is too much?... We've paid with our blood." Bereaved mother Einav Danino, whose son Ori was killed in Hamas captivity, testified that legislators should prioritize soldier welfare over advancing this bill.

The High Court challenge is already filed. The Movement for Quality Government submitted its petition within minutes of the Knesset vote, calling the law an attempt to "embed draft evasion and military service exemptions into Israel's Basic Laws" to circumvent the High Court's 2017 and 2024 rulings. Legal advisers had objected during the rushed House Committee process, warning the legislative procedure was itself flawed.

Where This Lands

Haredi parties say the Jewish state was long overdue in formally recognizing Torah study, and that a Basic Law finally gives the Knesset authority to resist future court rulings against religious exemptions. Lapid and Bennett say the law is a wartime betrayal — money and exemptions dressed in religious language while soldiers die. Zamir's concern is more specific: the IDF can't field an army if men have a legal shield from prosecution for not showing up. The Movement for Quality Government's petition is now before the High Court, and Bennett has promised to repeal the law if he wins in October.

Sources