A stormy Knesset committee debate over the Basic Law: Torah Study erupted Monday as an MK shouted at Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas: 'You didn't send soldiers to die in Gaza when you have three deserter grandsons.' The remark drew outcry and disorder in the committee room, according to reports from the session.
The Knesset committee convened on Monday for a heated debate on the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study, which would equate full-time Torah study with military service. The session descended into shouting when an MK directly confronted Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas, saying: 'You didn't send soldiers to die in Gaza when you have three deserter grandsons.'
The remark — which targeted Abbas's personal family situation — sparked outcry and disorder in the committee room. The bill, advanced by the coalition, has been a flashpoint in Israeli politics, pitting the ultra-Orthodox camp's demand for Torah-study exemptions against widespread calls for equal burden-sharing in IDF service.
As The Zioneer previously reported, the Basic Law passed a preliminary Knesset vote on June 10 and was advanced by a committee on June 16. Multiple stages of legislation remain, with opposition from secular and reservist groups, as well as from Knesset Legal Adviser Attorney Sagit Afik, who formally opposed procedural moves related to the bill. Monday's confrontation adds a personal and ethnic dimension to an already divisive national debate.
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