Israel Sits Out Round Two, Bitter Divisions in Israel

On Monday the Knesset passed, 63-52, a new Basic Law declaring Torah study a "foundational value" of the Jewish people and the State of Israel — the first time any value beyond human dignity and liberty has been given this quasi-constitutional status. A companion bill passed 58-54 temporarily bars the arrest or prosecution of Haredi men evading conscription, converting years of de facto mass non-enlistment into something close to statutory protection.