{"id":485563,"date":"2026-06-10T11:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/485563\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T11:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:01:10","slug":"a-new-proposal-to-radically-destabilize-israel-the-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/485563\/","title":{"rendered":"A new proposal to radically destabilize Israel \u2013 The Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Israeli<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Aryeh Deri, chairman of the Shas party, on May 23, 2023. Photo by Gil Cohen-Magen\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Dan<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tColumnist
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDan Perry<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 10, 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Given the jackhammer pace of outrageous developments, one might almost think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s coalition is trying to give the opposition ammunition in the coming election \u2014 most recently by promoting a bill rendering full-time Torah study as a national service equivalent to military service.<\/p>\n

The proposed \u201cBasic Law: Torah Study<\/a>,\u201d which will undergo its first of four Knesset votes on Wednesday, seeks to elevate full-time Torah study within Israel\u2019s Basic Laws framework, a de facto constitution. Under its logic, sustained Torah study will not be merely a protected cultural or religious activity, but a state-recognized form of \u201cmeaningful service\u201d to the nation. In effect, it would place long-term yeshiva study on a comparable footing to military service, including in terms of tangible financial benefits and how the state defines civic contribution.<\/p>\n

This comes in the context of a conscription crisis, which has seen the country come to a boiling point over a long-standing institutional arrangement by which Haredi yeshiva students are exempted from military service.<\/p>\n

Yet even as the rage mounts, the governing coalition is trying to find legislative ways to formalize the draft exemptions to appease Netanyahu\u2019s Haredi coalition partners, without whom he would lose his tenuous majority.<\/p>\n

The result may be a disastrous dual-track citizenship model: one in which military service obligations are heavily concentrated among secular and national-religious Israelis, while Haredi communities are structurally insulated both from conscription and from the economic consequences that typically accompany non-participation in the labor force or military.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of cultural disagreements between Haredi and secular Israelis, but the central criticism of the proposed law is about how the legislation threatens the structure of the country. It incentivizes behavior that will undermine Israel\u2019s ability to defend itself from its very real enemies by diminishing the number of people serving, and demoralizing those who do.<\/p>\n

Torah study as national defense<\/p>\n

The draft exemption has contributed to a severe manpower shortfall in the Israel Defense Forces, as tens of thousands of reservists are repeatedly mobilized for extended periods of duty: sometimes hundreds of days per year, even after completing compulsory service. Ordinary Israelis are chafing under this burden, while many thousands of conscription-age Haredim enjoy danger-free and often taxpayer-subsidized lives.<\/p>\n

With the Haredim set to make up a third<\/a> of Israel\u2019s citizenry by 2050, many see the long-term implications of this inequality as dire for Israel.<\/p>\n

By classifying Torah study as a form of recognized national service, the Basic Law proposal would provide a legal foundation for aligning the rights of yeshiva students with those of IDF veterans and active soldiers. That would influence their eligibility for a range of state-linked benefits and entitlements that are tied \u2014 directly or indirectly \u2014 to military service, including housing assistance, childcare subsidies, and other welfare mechanisms that privilege or differentiate based on service status.<\/p>\n

In parallel, it strengthens the political and legal argument that full-time Torah learners should not be treated as draft evaders but as a distinct category of service-recognized citizens, thereby reinforcing the broader exemption framework. It would function as a bulwark anchoring existing and future exemption arrangements against judicial or legislative rollback.<\/p>\n

Words can hardly express the agitation this prospect has caused in mainstream Israel.<\/p>\n

A coherent worldview<\/p>\n

Haredi politicians have settled on justifying the draft exemption by arguing that their prayers are more important than the actions of pilots or tank commanders in aiding Israel. Supporters of the exemption frame the arrangement as a necessary accommodation to preserve large-scale Torah study as a core national and religious value.<\/p>\n

These arguments are, in my view, wrong but not trivial. They reflect a coherent worldview about identity, community and the meaning of national service.<\/p>\n

Actual supporters of this approach outside the Haredi parties \u2014 and they are few \u2014 argue that Torah study is not merely a private religious activity but a foundational element of Jewish national identity. In their view, it represents a continuous spiritual contribution to the survival and cohesion of the Jewish people \u2014 one that cannot be measured in military or economic terms. They also warn that broad coercive conscription risks destabilizing Haredi society, undermining its institutions, and producing a deep cultural rupture.<\/p>\n

The law \u201cwill be a historic confirmation of the supreme value of the Torah and students of the Torah to the people of Israel and their security,\u201d said Aryeh Deri, head of the Haredi Party Shas, adding \u201cthe People of Israel need greater virtues for the success of its campaign against enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

That argument is unlikely to convince anyone not already sold on this worldview. Which raises the question: What is Netanyahu thinking in letting this move forward?<\/p>\n

It is all but certain this move will harm him in upcoming elections, and the opposition, should it win, will cancel most of the laws that resulted from the current legislative blitzkrieg \u2014 most of which involve weakening of the state\u2019s institutions, primarily those with oversight over the government.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Haredim have conditioned future support for Netanyahu on the effort; but this would be an empty threat, because the center-left opposition is not a viable alternative for them, any more than the MAGA movement might join the U.S. Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

The whole thing is a mystery. But one thing is clear, and alarming: Israel\u2019s government is now openly advocating against a single shared system of civic duty, and for a tiered structure in which one group bears the full burden of military service, and another is exempt, on the strength of arguments that most Israelis reject.<\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion<\/a>. To contact Opinion authors, email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hello, fellow Forward reader! I\u2019m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.<\/p>\n

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The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.<\/p>\n

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.<\/p>\n

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