In an opinion piece, a columnist argues that since Israel's High Court assumed the authority to strike down Basic Laws, any substantive Basic Law — including the Torah Study bill — will be either overturned or rendered hollow. The same analysis says the daycare subsidy bill, which subsidizes those who choose not to serve or work, will also be struck down, questioning the political cost of advancing it. The piece was published by Amit Segal (N12), a senior journalist.
The column, posted by Amit Segal (N12) on the afternoon of June 10, offers a sweeping legal-political critique of two coalition bills against the backdrop of the High Court of Justice's asserted power to invalidate Basic Laws. The writer asserts that the Torah Study Basic Law — already approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and passed in a preliminary Knesset reading on June 9-10 — is effectively meaningless: if it contains real content it will be overturned, and if it is watered down it will become a dead letter, like the Basic Law: Israel — the Nation State of the Jewish People. The opinion contrasts Torah study with democratic values, arguing that no one in the High Court will safeguard Jewish values. Separately, the daycare subsidy bill is framed as a 'moment of truth' — a subsidy, at taxpayer expense, for those who voluntarily chose not to serve in the IDF or work. The columnist questions the need for the coalition to 'humiliate itself and pay' for a bill that will inevitably be struck down. As The Zioneer reported earlier on June 10, the Torah Study Basic Law passed its preliminary vote and drew criticism from coalition allies and opposition figures. The High Court's authority to review Basic Laws — itself a contested legal development — has been a recurring theme in Israeli constitutional discourse since its assertion in the early 1990s and recent rulings on the reasonableness standard.
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