The passage in the Knesset of a temporary order extending
the draft deferment of yeshiva students for another two
years has stirred opposition among figures hostile to the
Torah world. Meretz representatives filed an appeal with the
High Court claiming the Knesset lacks the authority to
legislate a temporary order, particularly in a matter with
so many legal complications.
Rabbi Moshe Gafni decided to remind them that there is a
long list of important laws in Israel that have passed as
"temporary orders." This "reminder" was carried out in an
original manner that was written in the law books in a way
that demonstrated the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of the
complaints.
During the course of deliberations over a certain bill,
Rabbi Gafni heard that this was the fourth time the bill in
question, also a temporary order, was being renewed. He
filed a motion asking that the law be named the "Fourth
Temporary Order."
Said Rabbi Gafni: "Until recently I took no interest in the
matter of temporary orders since I understood it to be part
of the government's job, and definitely part of the
Knesset's job. There are both emergency regulations and laws
concerning this matter. Since the founding of the State they
have been continually extended as temporary orders.
Temporary orders are extended for one year, two years or
five years. A law was passed recently [as an extension of a
temporary order] and led to attacks against us: How can a
law be passed as a `temporary order?'
"I began to think that maybe I hadn't noticed before, and
perhaps such a thing really has never taken place. Then
today a request reached the Knesset Finance Committee asking
that a same-day temporary order be issued. I began to
inquire since, after all, I'm not a veteran here at the
Knesset. I asked the legal advisor, `Is this the first time
you have asked for a temporary order?' She replied, `No,
this is the fourth time!' I inquired further and found out
that the law is completely unconstitutional. The law is in
violation of the Basic Law--Freedom of Enterprise. It turns
out that this is a case of an unconstitutional law in the
form of a temporary order which has now passed for the
fourth time. The law infringes on individual freedom and the
Basic Law--Human Dignity and Liberty, so it is obviously
unconstitutional law. Now there are those who are trying to
claim that the State of Israel has to do it, no matter what
the reason, and therefore a clearly unconstitutional law has
been brought as a temporary order for the fourth time."
When MK Galon of Meretz tried to claim that members of her
party objected to this legislation, Rabbi Gafni said,
"Knesset Member Galon, I will produce data from Knesset
protocols. I am willing to perform this service for you, to
extract the protocols and to show you how many times you
have voted in favor of clearly unconstitutional laws in the
form of temporary orders, since the Knesset's work is
continuous and you chaired a major coalition party. Believe
me, you'll be surprised. I was surprised myself. I didn't
believe that so many Knesset members from every party have
voted in favor of a temporary order over such a long period
of time, on so many occasions, in cases of clearly
unconstitutional laws."
Rabbi Gafni added that the time has come to explain to
Meretz MKs what they refused to understand when the
temporary order for a deferment of the drafting of yeshiva
students was legislated. "There are essential needs and I am
not expressing my own opinion of the law now. I have not
studied it thoroughly enough. The Knesset and the government
have been working regularly since the founding of the State
on clearly unconstitutional laws in the form of temporary
orders, due to extenuating circumstances. In certain
situations, when the government doesn't legislate a law, it
institutes a temporary order. When the issue comes up again
and the government and the Knesset fail to discuss the
matter and pass legislation--a temporary order is issued
once again. I want us all to keep this in mind."
He also said that of course every MK has the right to voice
his opinion regarding any law. "But please, be open and
honest, express your position on every law, but don't rely
on something being an unconstitutional law or a temporary
order, since these are everyday occurrences that you
sometimes vote in favor of and sometimes vote against."
At the conclusion of his speech Rabbi Gafni moved for a vote
for his unusual and original objection, according to which
it would be indicated in bold print in the official name of
the law that this is a temporary order for the fourth time,
and the proposal was eventually approved by a large
majority.
In the end the absurdity was brought to light more clearly
due to human error. The government printer printed "Fourth
Temporary Order" but it later came to light that this law
was really being extended for the sixth time! Thus a note
was included in the law book emphasizing that the law should
really be called the "Sixth Temporary Order."
