The Knesset plenum on Wednesday approved in a preliminary reading Basic Law: Torah Study, which enshrines Torah study as a fundamental value. Fifty-six MKs voted in favor of the bill, while 43 opposed it.
According to the bill, Torah study will be enshrined as a fundamental value in the State of Israel, and Torah scholars will be defined as having made a significant contribution to the State - including with regard to the rights they receive from it.
Shas MKs attacked Likud MK Dan Illouz, who voted against the bill, saying, "Disgraceful. The Torah world in Canada is ashamed of you."
The bill is signed by MKs from Shas and United Torah Judaism and was included in the coalition agreements.
MK Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionist Party voted against the bill. He explained, "The current wording equates one who studies Torah with one who serves in the army. In such wording, which constitutes a desecration of G-d’s Name and a blow to the entire Religious Zionist Torah world, I cannot support it."
"The value of Torah study is a supreme value; it is so clear that it does not need to be anchored in legislation. But even when anchoring it, complete Torah study is that which combines a life of action and security. ‘Any Torah that is not accompanied by work will ultimately cease and lead to sin’ (Avot 2:2). When the law comes up for its first reading, I will examine it according to the changes made and decide how to vote."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked MK Moshe Gafni, who claimed that Torah was studied even in the Warsaw Ghetto and that this is the true strength of the Jewish people.
"They studied Torah in the Warsaw Ghetto? In the Warsaw Ghetto, they did not receive a budget to study Torah - they took up arms and carried out the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - for the sake of the Jewish people. That is what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto. My father sat in the ghetto because there was no army for the State of Israel. You brought the Holocaust here - in order to receive stipends, funding, and salaries."
MK Meir Porush responded to the approval of the bill and explained the circumstances that led to its advancement in the Knesset. Porush noted that the people of Israel do not need laws in order to recognize that Torah study is a fundamental value of the Jewish people. He also said that "following the malicious conduct of the judicial system and the systematic persecution over the past several years against Torah learners, we were required to correct this through the Basic Law: Torah Study bill."
Porush stressed that United Torah Judaism will continue to fight with all available tools against the persecution of Torah learners, and expects the coalition and the government to act against such persecution.
Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri stated: "The preliminary approval of the Basic Law: Torah Study bill, which the Shas movement demanded, is a historic step toward the State of Israel’s recognition of the supreme value of the holy Torah and the enormous contribution of Torah scholars to the people of Israel. The Torah is the secret of our existence, and it is what has preserved the Jewish people throughout all generations. The Shas faction will continue to act with determination until the completion of the law’s legislation and the granting of the proper honor to the Torah and those who study it."