1948/49: How it all began

In Israel, military service has been compulsory for all citizens since the establishment of the State of Israel. According to the Defense Service Law, enacted in 1949 and amended several times ever since, a calling-up officer may, by order, call upon any person, male and female, found fit for service who is of any age from eighteen for regular service. But at the demand of religious leaders of that period David Ben Gurion signed an arrangement granting a deferral to 400 pious Torah students. This enabled a determined number of individuals to devote their time to studying the Torah according to their faith instead of serving in the military forces.

Over the course of the years the Israeli government has renewed the agreement. However, in the late 90’s that consensus was strongly called into question. Indeed, due to the growth of the Haredi population segment, the number of postponements had significantly increased. This, in turn, created a growing feeling of injustice among the conscripts who have to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (men three years, women two years). Protests among the conscripts turned into numerous and repeated petitions to the judiciary which were subsequently brought to the High Court of Justice (HCJ). In one of its deliberations (see HCJ 3267/97, 1997), Justice Aharon Barak explains: “According to the statistics presented to us, in 1997, about 8% of all the enlistees eligible for service were granted a deferral, based on their being full-time Yeshiva students. The total number of Yeshiva students included in the arrangement that year was 28,772 (as of August 1997). The arrangement’s social ramifications are of gargantuan proportions”.

According to the above-mentioned HCJ ruling and in order to answer this challenge to the cohesion of Israeli society, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together with Defense Minister Ehud Barak appointed in 1998 a public committee: The Tal Commission. Presided by Tzvi Tal (former Supreme Court justice), its aim was to make appropriate recommendations to the government.

2002: The Tal Law

The main conclusions of the committee lead the Knesset to turn the deferral agreement into a law: The Knesset enacted the “Deferral of Military Service for Yeshiva Students Law” 2002. (Its full Hebrew name is “Law on the Deferral of Military Service for Yeshiva Students who study Torah as a vocation”.) Also known under the name “Tal Law”, it stipulates the deferment for Yeshiva students until the age of 22 at which they will have the choice either to get enrolled in a minimal military service or a national service (at least one full year).

When the “Tal Law” was enacted, both of these options were primarily believed to facilitate Torah students to eventually enter into the workforce and then integrate in society. Have these basic objectives been attained as expected over that period?

Many observers rather consider that there has been little progress in Yeshiva students’ military draft, on the contrary. According to Yossi Verter, a senior political writer and commentator for Haaretz, “the Tal Law … was the basis for the increasing shirking of military service by young ultra-Orthodox men” (See: The Court Giveth, the Court Taketh away, Haaretz, Feb. 22, 2012). Indeed, the postponement can be, under certain conditions, turned into total exemption from conscription – this is claimed to be often the case. For Yair Ettinger, “The Tal Law is a compromise between the Haredi position and the secular one, therefore it is criticized from both parts: within the ultra-Orthodox society some see the law as an injury to the study of Torah. Whereas seculars argue that the law allows the ultra-Orthodox shirking from the military service” (see http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/education/1.1646921).

Nowadays exempted Yeshiva students are ever more felt as an economic burden by great parts of society, as a Jerusalem Post Editorial of 2010 (Making the Tal Law work) points out: “In 2008, 65% of the male Haredi population aged 35 to 54 did not work and had no intention of looking for work, a rise of 200% over the past three decades. To support these men and their dependent families, average per-capita welfare allowances have increased five-fold in real terms since 1970.”

In 2009 the Israel Democracy Institute (see A Portrait of Israeli Jews, p. 67) led a survey which shows that a large majority of the Israeli citizens believe that Yeshiva students should be conscripted to military service like anyone else.

2012: The Supreme Court’s Ruling

The very controversial Tal Law is to expire on August 1st, 2012. Therefore the opposing voices have risen again, and the public debate in Israel has been strengthened. The opponents definitely want the situation to change. On February 21st the long lasting pressure on the Court and the Knesset from part of the public opinion to revise the law has been successful: A majority of 6 Justices (Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein, Esther Hayut, Hanan Meleer, Neal Hendel) against 3 (Asher Grunis, Edna Arbel, Eliezer Rivlin) ruled “to accept the petitions and to turn the conditional decree (decree nisi) to a decree absolute. This means that the ‘Deferral of Military Service for Yeshiva Students Law’ won’t be extended in its present form, and thus will expire on August 1st 2012” (see the court’s ruling). In other words, the legislature has to formulate a new arrangement.

“The Tal Law issue is one of the most important concerns for the state in Israel’s history”, declared Reuven Rivlin, Speaker of the Knesset, with regard to the conflict on the renewal of the Tal Law (see Tal Law to be subjected to Knesset’s full scrutiny, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 21, 2012). Indeed, the court ruling has undeniably provoked a division also within the coalition, bringing together parts of the right and the left. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly supportive for the making of a new law: “There used to be one reality, and this didn’t deal with the division of the burden. In the approaching months we will formulate a new bill that would guarantee a more equal sharing of the burden of all parts of Israeli society” (see High Court strikes down law exempting Haredi men from draft), Haaretz, Feb. 22, 2012).

The religious-secular cleavage

Most secular parties are in favor, whereas the religious faction of the coalition, such as the Sephardic religious party Shas, opposes an amendment of the long-lasting “hesder” (agreement) in favor of Yeshiva students. According to Knesset Member and head of the Shas party, Eli Yishai, one should not forget the value of their devotion: The Yeshiva students’ “contribution to the Jewish people and the State of Israel is obvious to any Jewish believer” (see High Court rules against extending Tal Law, ynetnews.com, Feb. 22, 2012).

The court’s verdict on the deferral agreement for Haredim had been awaited eagerly. Since then the press has focused its discourse on the perceived unequal and the unconstitutional character of the Tal Law in its present shape. Besides, it is worth noting that the Tal Law’s revision might entail major additional changes. Indeed, the ultra-Orthodox conscription necessitates an appropriate military framework as well as a budget for the specific needs of Haredi soldiers. “Shahar” (Hebrew for Haredis’ integration), for instance, is a military program for ultra-Orthodox who are willing to serve in the army as conscripts. This unit has been launched in 2007; it enables young Haredim to combine Torah studies with the mandatory military service. Yet, a question remains open: Will the financial implications of a revision of the Tal Law impact the next government’s proposal, and if so, to what extent?

Considering the elements discussed above, one could conclude that the current situation revives old painful questions and puts at the forefront a deep-rooted division within the Israeli society: the religious-secular cleavage (see Horowitz and Lissak, Trouble in Utopia, 1989, p. 32). Some, as Yossi Verter, even believe that a collapse of the current coalition (Likud, Israel Beitenu, Shas, Independence, United Torah Judaism, The Jewish Home) might ensue: “Such an issue has the explosive potential to bring down the entire coalition. The Haredi parties in the coalition, Shas and the United Torah Judaism, will find it hard to live with the practical results of the ruling” (see The Court Giveth, the Court Taketh away, Haaretz, Feb. 22, 2012).

Adi Singer