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Knesset Approves Torah-Study Law Amid Election Delay Deal

6/10/2026

23 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The Knesset approved 56-43 a Basic Law declaring Torah study a state value equal to military service, sending it to the House Committee.
Ultra-Orthodox MKs called the vote a “declaration of holy war” and labeled opponents antisemitic.
The law, tied to a deal for Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone elections to October 20, will be backed by Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party only if the Torah-military clause is removed.

History

Historical Context

After arriving in Israel in 1994 during the Oslo peace process, lawyer Tal Becker advised the IDF’s Gaza Division, helped draft UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 Lebanon war, led negotiations at the 2007 Annapolis Conference and the 2020 Abraham Accords, and defended Israel before the ICJ in 2024.

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Story summary

The Knesset approved 56-43 a Basic Law declaring Torah study a state value equal to military service, sending it to the House Committee.
Ultra-Orthodox MKs called the vote a “declaration of holy war” and labeled opponents antisemitic.
The law, tied to a deal for Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone elections to October 20, will be backed by Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party only if the Torah-military clause is removed.

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