Knesset approves Basic Law on Torah study in first reading

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Knesset

Legal experts have said that Torah study as a Basic Law could result in an exemption from military service.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s Knesset approved the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study in its first reading on Wednesday, advancing legislation that would recognize Torah study as a fundamental constitutional value in the heritage of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

The bill, sponsored by Knesset members Moshe Gafni, Yaakov Asher and Yitzhak Pindrus, passed by a vote of 63-53.

Under the proposal, Torah study would be defined as a “fundamental value” in an effort, according to its sponsors, to establish constitutional balance with other basic values.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the debate and voted in favor of the legislation. Four coalition lawmakers voted against the measure: Yuli Edelstein, Dan Illouz, Sharren Haskel and Moshe Solomon.

Legal experts have warned that if the rights of military service members and Torah students come into conflict, the proposed Basic Law could give constitutional preference to Torah study.

The legislation drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

Beyachad chairman Naftali Bennett said, “Immediately after the new government is formed, we will repeal the Basic Law of Torah Humiliation. The law will disappear, but the mark of shame on the miserable Knesset members who supported it will remain.”

Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot said, “The attempt to turn draft evasion into a Basic Law is a direct blow to our national backbone. At a time when the burden on those who serve is reaching record levels and the price they pay is unbearable, the coalition is choosing to create a bypass route for draft evasion.”

Supporters of the measure argued that the legislation restores the status of Torah study within the Jewish state.

During the Knesset debate, Yitzhak Pindrus said Torah study is the highest value in the State of Israel, above military service.

Gafni said, “In recent years there has been a degradation in the honor of the Torah. Therefore, under the instruction of the leading Torah sages, I decided to bring this Basic Law to restore the honor of the Torah, which has sustained the Jewish people for thousands of years and distinguishes us from all other nations.”

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf said the proposal was intended “to recognize the Torah of Israel that was given at Mount Sinai,” adding that Torah students should not be treated “as though he were a thief.”

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IN the summer of 2019, I was seated in the wine cellar of a walled Medieval town high above the Dordogne Valley of France, not far from Sarlat-la-Canéda, making phone calls, writing reports. I have given this story in other places and it appears as though you’re about to hear it again. Rob Skiba is a name you that you might be familiar with. Though he had made a name for himself as a Nephilim researcher, more recently Rob had taken a dive into the deep end of the pool via flat earth research. The recorded interviews I conducted between he and Rick Hummer, a fellow flat earth investigator and close friend of his, was published while still occupying that very wine cellar. Read all about it. Chicago Is Not a Mirage.

Word quickly spread. Within a few short weeks, dozens of flat earth researchers began accepting my invite for a private interview, if not a series of interviews. From a 17th-century tower built by King Louis XIV, and with a stunning view of the Alps, I sat down with Robbie Davidson, founder of the Flat Earth International Conferences, conducting multiple sessions. While staying in Dumfries, Scotland, David Weiss agreed to take part in the interviews, as did Bob Knodel of Globebusters. There were others. But when I asked the interviewees to discuss the moments that shaped their lives, among the many PSYOPs, false flag attacks, and hoaxes that were discussed, only these men committed commentary to the false 9/11 narrative.

The resulting recordings ballooned into The Unexpected Cosmology, a book which became a website and was even intended as an anthology. And of course, the following discourse was originally a chapter. It was Walt Disney who stated, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Those sentiments remain applicable here as well. American Sensationalism: The 9/11 Interviews was always intended to be expanded upon with the inclusion of new researchers. So I’m sorry to say the project became stagnant during the Covid-19 psychodrama. I took a break to tackle other projects. We lost Rob Skiba. Rob offered hours of private conversation regarding his life but we never got around to the big one. 9/11. It was in the cards. Sadly, Bob Knodel died soon afterwards. Voices are being squeezed from an entire generation. Gnosis passes with them.

In the aftermath, the FE community became fractured. People began going their separate ways. Robbie Davidson, among a noted few others who were interviewed for the project, got up and left the movement altogether. It is not my intent to erase his or the contributions of others if only brief. They came, they went, their testimonies remain.

The original vision may have hit roadblocks but it is not forgotten. I expanded this paper a few years later to include testimony from author Pauly Hart, a dear friend of mine. I had wanted to continue that trend every year thereafter but you know how it goes. For the 25th anniversary of the attack I have redirected my efforts to its first large scale expansion, including Andrew Hoy and Darrin Geisinger into the mix. Perhaps others will lend their experiences to the recorder in time.

The following is their report.

Watch the Interviews