Shas leader R’ Aryeh Deri sent a letter Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz demanding a preliminary reading vote on the proposed Basic Law on Torah Study this Wednesday, warning that continued coalition support hinges on the legislation moving forward.

In the letter, dispatched following a lengthy faction meeting, Shas declared that passage of the law — which would entrench Torah study as a constitutional value — is a precondition for the party’s support of government-sponsored legislation. Members warned that if a majority for the bill cannot be secured, Shas MKs would not only withhold their votes from coalition measures but would actively work to defeat other coalition bills brought to the plenum.

The faction opened its letter with sharp criticism of the attorney general, describing what it called an “unprecedented and ruthless persecution” of Torah learners. “Our distinguished sons, toilers of Torah and the shevet Levi of our generation, have become targets of persecution and humiliation,” the letter stated.

Shas argued that the only way to protect yeshivah funding and tax benefits from legal challenge is by erecting what it called a “constitutional protective wall.” The party said the law would equate the legal status of Torah learners with that of those serving in the military, thereby neutralizing discrimination claims in the courts. The legislation is also intended to circumvent High Court rulings and attorney general directives by anchoring Torah study as a foundational constitutional value.

The letter reminded the Prime Minister that advancing the bill was included in coalition agreements signed with Likud, and characterized the vote as “a value-based, moral, and national statement.”

Shas closed the letter with a quote from a past Netanyahu Knesset address: “The Torah world protected us throughout the years of exile. Torah study and the preservation of our heritage are what defended the Jewish people — without them, the Jewish people would not have survived.”

UTJ chairman MK R’ Yitzchak Goldknopf welcomed Shas’s move while pointedly noting it had taken too long. “We welcome Arye Deri’s belated awakening — though it comes three years late,” he said. “Prime Minister Netanyahu must understand that commitments must be honored, not endlessly delayed with excuses, while the Torah world bears the cost.”