Netanyahu again skips controversial vote as Torah study law passes: ‘Blow to IDF during wartime’

The Knesset has approved the Basic Law: Torah Study, passing the softened measure by a vote of 63-52. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was absent from the vote, as were two members of his Likud party, Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz, who voted against the measure. The law, which enshrines Torah study as a fundamental value, is expected to help ultra-Orthodox parties defend future military draft exemptions before the High Court of Justice. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir sent a letter to Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth, warning that freezing arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings for draft evaders would "provide an incentive not to report for military service, since it would grant immunity from prosecution and criminal proceedings." Opposition leaders issued a joint statement urging coalition lawmakers to reject the legislation, calling it "a severe blow to the IDF during wartime."