Basic Law

Shas spiritual leader orders support for coalition legislation in exchange for haredi-backed bills

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warned there was “no room for delay” on the Torah Study Law amid coalition efforts to advance contentious legislation.

|ByKESHET NEEV
ARYE DERI sits in the Knesset plenum.
Ultra orthodox Jewish reserve soldiers of the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip on June 26, 2025.

It’s about time that Torah study counted for something - opinion

That same Torah which gives us our claim to the land also commands us to study it day and night – and our tradition holds that this study is itself a form of national defense.

|ByELIYAHU HADDAD
MKS ATTEND a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2026.

The hidden economic danger in the Basic Law on Torah Study

Another significant dimension has received almost no attention: the possibility that the law will alter Israel’s national priorities and damage the growth engines on which the Israeli economy depends

|ByDAPHNA AVIRAM-NITZAN
Combat veterans suffering from PTSD attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on, July 7, 2026.

'Little girls with microphones': IDF veteran slams MKs during Basic Law: Torah Study cm'tee meeting

“It's a crime what you're doing to them - all of you here. If I gave each and every one of you the footage from my GoPro of the bodies, you wouldn't sleep at night," the veteran told the committee.

|ByKESHET NEEV, SHIR PERETS

Knesset speaker calls to replace High Court if reasonableness law struck down

Knesset speaker Amir Ohana has suggested swapping the High Court with a "constitutional court."

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023ByTROY O. FRITZHAND
Knesset speaker Amir Ohana holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem. September 6, 2023.

Will the High Court strike down the reasonableness law? - analysis

The reasonableness law was an amendment to a basic law, which the court believes requires a high threshold for the court to nullify.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
MK Simcha Rothman seen at the High Court hearing of the government's judicial reform reasonableness bill on September 12, 2023

A-G's office argues High Court can strike down basic law

Basic laws lack clear boundaries as the Knesset has failed to pass Basic Law: Legislation to establish the rules for the articles.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
Attorney Aner Helman with Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon at a court hearing on petitions against the government's "Reasonableness Standard Bill", at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem. September 12, 2023.

Knesset Speaker: High Court has no authority to strike down basic laws

Amir Ohana warned that a ruling to strike down a basic law would be "against the Knesset and Israeli democracy."

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
Knesset speaker Amir Ohana holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem. September 6, 2023.

The High Court process: How the judicial reform hearing will happen - explainer

The High Court of Justice hearing on the reasonableness standard will be presided over by all 15 justices, which has never been done before. Here's the process for how it will work.

AUGUST 26, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
HISTORIC HEARING: All 15 judges will preside (Illustrative).

Gov't demands High Court postpone reasonableness clause hearing

If postponed, the hearing may come at a time when High Court President Esther Hayut and a justice are set to retire.

AUGUST 18, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
High Court hears petitions on against the incapacitation law on August 3, 2023.

What are the chances Israel could have a constitution?

LEGAL AFFAIRS: The creation of a constitution is plagued with its own share of disagreements and challenges.

AUGUST 4, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
DAVID BEN-GURION reading the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel.

High Court unlikely to strike down law protecting Netanyahu - analysis

The problems with the incapacitating law are nothing personal.

AUGUST 3, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin are seen in a goveernment cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, April 2, 2023

High Court to discuss Netanyahu's Incapacitation Law after A-G attack

High Court President Esther Hayut, Vice President Uzi Vogelman, and Justice Yitzhak Amit will preside over the hearing in which arguments will be made about the Basic Law: The Government amendment.

AUGUST 1, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
SUPREME COURT President Esther Hayut attends a conference in Haifa, in January. Would the Supreme Court nullify Knesset legislation as readily today as it did six months ago? It should be clear to all that it will not, says the writer.

NGO to attorney general: Does reasonableness law apply to West Bank?

Yesh Din argued that only the military had the authority to set rules and regulations in the West Bank.

JULY 30, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu is flanked by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Justice Minister Yariv Levin in the Knesset on Monday, before the vote on the reasonableness bill.