The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee began debating Tuesday morning a bill that would grant immunity from arrest to yeshiva students who do not enlist, according to N12 reporter Daphna Liel. The legislation, drafted per the coalition's legal advice, reportedly includes no enforcement targets or sanctions for non-enlistment. Separately, the Knesset Committee continues discussing the Basic Law: Torah Study, aiming for a vote on Wednesday.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee convened Tuesday at 11:00, as scheduled, for the first substantive debate on the bill to freeze arrests of yeshiva students who do not enlist in the IDF. According to N12 reporter Daphna Liel, the legislation as drafted — following coalition legal advice — provides immunity from arrest without setting enlistment quotas or sanctions for non-compliance, as The Zioneer first reported at 13:40 Sunday when committee chair MK Boaz Bismuth announced the debate's scheduling. The meeting proceeds after Defense Minister Israel Katz formally requested the debate Sunday morning, marking a shift from his earlier opposition to such immunity, as The Zioneer reported at 10:01 Sunday.
Sunday's committee scheduling followed a separate meeting of coalition heads convened by Prime Minister Netanyahu to secure a majority, as The Zioneer reported at 13:40. Earlier Sunday, Katz's request (reported at 10:01) came ahead of Bismuth's announcement, which was then confirmed by a committee statement at 16:12. The committee also recently debated a related bill that would grant a pardon to Haredi draft evaders, as The Zioneer reported at 11:11 Tuesday.
The Knesset Committee (the house committee) continues its discussions on the Basic Law: Torah Study simultaneously, having concluded its second debate on Monday at 13:58, with voting on articles scheduled for Tuesday and a first Knesset reading expected Wednesday, as The Zioneer reported at 08:07 Sunday. Haredi parties — Shas and United Torah Judaism — have said they will not vote for any coalition legislation unless both the arrest freeze and the Torah Study Basic Law pass, deepening the standoff over military service, as The Zioneer reported at 20:42 Monday.
It remains unverified whether the debate will conclude with a vote on the arrest-freeze bill or whether the coalition will secure the necessary majority in the Knesset plenum.
3 developments
- DevelopingDefense Minister Katz formally requests Knesset debate on immunity from arrest for yeshiva students
- DevelopingKnesset committee holds debate on pardon for Haredi draft dodgers
- StrongKnesset committees yet to convene on coalition bills despite PM commitment
- DevelopingSecond committee debate on Torah Study Basic Law concludes; Knesset committee votes on articles tomorrow
Source and signal
- Internal intake