A lengthy Knesset committee debate over the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study ended Tuesday without a vote, as government legal advisers warned that the legislation’s current wording could have sweeping implications for government benefits, budgets, and the legal status of limud haTorah.

One of the most significant issues raised during the discussion was the possibility that the law could pave the way for the restoration of reduced National Insurance payments for bnei yeshivah—a benefit that was canceled in January following a High Court ruling. Roy Karet, a legal adviser to Israel’s National Insurance Institute, said passage of the Basic Law could lead to legal arguments that the benefit should be reinstated, at an estimated annual cost of approximately 100 million shekels.

Karet also pointed to possible ramifications involving income support. Under current regulations, students enrolled in institutions of higher education and bnei yeshivah are excluded from eligibility. He suggested that if limud haTorah receives constitutional status through a Basic Law, litigants could argue that its elevated legal standing supersedes the existing regulations.

Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik cautioned that it remains unclear how the legislation would affect government policy in practice. She said that if lawmakers intend the bill to serve only as a declarative statement, its language should be revised to make clear that its purpose is simply to establish limud haTorah as a foundational national value.

Afik also warned that the legislation could eventually affect a range of existing government benefits. She said that once limud haTorah is granted constitutional status, there could be demands to extend additional benefits to Torah learners comparable to those provided to other groups, despite the fact that “the budgetary pie is limited.”

Legal representatives from the Defense, Labor, and Education ministries likewise expressed concern that the proposal’s wording is too vague. Officials from the Defense Ministry said it is impossible at this stage to determine whether the law could affect benefits for miluim soldiers. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry warned that if the legislation is interpreted as creating enforceable rights, it could trigger demands to allocate additional funding for Torah study at the expense of other educational programs.

Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky argued that granting constitutional status to limud haTorah could undermine the principle of equal sharing of national responsibilities. She added that the explanatory notes accompanying the legislation indicate that one of its purposes is to address court rulings related to the military draft.

MK Yossi Taieb of Shas rejected claims that the proposal would automatically lead to broad new government expenditures. He said the legislation is intended to provide the Torah world with a constitutional “umbrella” and to give the courts a framework for balancing competing legal principles.

“The wording is completely disconnected from any mechanism of equalizing rights,” Taieb said.

During the hearing, combat veterans and soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder renewed their demand to receive comparable recognition under the proposed law. Nadav Hirsch of the Combat Trauma Forum argued that the legislation discriminates against combat soldiers. MK Naor Shiri countered that including combat veterans in the Basic Law could ultimately backfire by reducing, rather than increasing, the resources allocated to them.

The committee concluded Tuesday’s session without reaching a final decision. Deliberations on the Basic Law: Torah Study, ahead of its second and third Knesset readings, are scheduled to resume Wednesday.

{Matzav.com}