Ultra-Orthodox Draft Exemption Law Softened But Core Purpose Unchanged, Say Legal Experts

A revised version of the controversial ‘Basic Law: Torah Study’ has cleared a parliamentary committee for its second and third readings, with significant changes to its wording but, according to constitutional law experts, fundamentally unchanged in its legal effect. The new version, reduced to a single clause, still provides legal grounds for exempting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service – a practice that has long been a flashpoint in Israeli society and politics.

The law passed the Knesset committee in its modified form, but legal scholars have warned that cosmetic changes do not alter the substantive outcome. ‘There is no such thing as a purely declarative Basic Law – that’s like bribing voters,’ said one constitutional expert, suggesting that the law’s actual implementation will preserve the existing exemption mechanism regardless of how it is drafted.

Opposition figures have condemned the legislation as corrosive to Israeli democracy and national cohesion. Critics argue that passing such a law just before a parliamentary recess and ahead of elections represents a grave breach of proper legislative procedure. They describe the move as a ‘scandal’ that will tear the nation apart at a sensitive political moment, pointing to the appearance that ultra-Orthodox parties are securing special privileges through legislative sleight of hand rather than genuine public consensus.

Source: Ynet — Original article in Hebrew.