Tal committee

The Tal committee was an Israeli public committee appointed on August 22, 1999 by then prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak, which was headed by the retired judge Tzvi Tal and dealt with the special exemption from mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces given to Israeli ultra-orthodox Jews.

The members of the committee were: Attorney Isaac Herzog, Attorney and Doctor Yakov Weinrot, Rabbi Tenenboam – the secretary of the yeshiva committee, general (retired) Moshe Nativ – former head of the IDF’s Manpower Branch, Israel Sadan - a former police officer, mayor of Hadera and former commander of the Israel Border Police, and Rabbi Mordechai Kerlits mayor of Bnei Brak.

Background

Although yeshiva students were not technically exempt from military service, their enlistment was annually postponed until they received an age or parental exemption. This situation, while in practice from the early days of Israel, was viewed by many as undemocratic, unjust and unequal. Unlike other exemptions from military service given to some groups in Israel (Bedouin, Arab and other), it was based on a ministerial order and not specified in the law.

The committee was appointed after the Supreme Court determined that the minister of defense had no authority to determine the extent of the exempts from army service given to ultra-orthodox yeshiva students. The Supreme Court postponed the application of the ruling in order allow the government ample time to resolve the matter by issuing appropriate laws or otherwise. For this purpose P.M. Barak established the Tal committee (Other committees have been appointed before the Tal committee to resolve the situation prior to the Supreme Court ruling, such as the Cohen committee and the Israeli committee).

In 1974 only 2.4% of the soldiers enlisting to the army that year were exempt because they were yeshiva members. This number has reached 9.2% in 1999. It is anticipated that this percentile will grow up to 15% by the year 2012. By comparison, in the year 2025 the orthodox sector in Israel is expected to reach 12.4% of the total population, whereas the children of this sector would reach 22.4%. In 1999 there were 30,414 exempted Yeshiva students, and by 2005 the number grew to 41,450. In order to be recognized as an exempt Yeshiva student one must meet two conditions: dedicate one's whole time for the purpose of studying Torah in a recognized yeshiva institute, and not be employed in any work in which salary would be provided. The Finance Ministry of Israel demonstrated data which indicates an unreasonable rise in the number of exempt young men. According to that data the number of the students grew in the extent of 237% between the years 1985 – 1998, while the number of young men growth at the same period was 354%. On the basis of this disproportional increase, which created an economical and a security burden on the other sectors of the Israeli population, the Tal committee was founded.

Goals

The goals of the committee as they were declared when it was appointed were:
# To find the proper way in the legislation which would entitle the defense minister to be the one to give exemptions from army service.
# The exempt or the postponement would be applied on the yeshiva members without a limitation to their numbers because there is no intention to prevent yeshiva members from continuing their studying.
# To examine and to recommend on the different aspects of this issue, such as the development of the different courses and limits of it to a certain part of the orthodox sector. Within this the possibly of lowering the age of exemption should be considered, giving a minimalist militaristic training, and giving special arrangements, while keeping the consideration in the IDF and in its needs.

Goals which the committee itself formulated:
# The committee saw its main point in finding a proper agreement.
# Finding a solution which would be practical and not theoretical.
# Creating a way to prevent the alienation and the social distance of the orthodox population in Israel from the other Israeli population groups.

Tal Law

In April 2000 the report of the committee was finished, and on the July 23, 2002, the Tal Law was passed in the Israeli parliament by a majority of 51 against 41. The bill enabled a continuation of the exempts to Yeshiva members which is subject to the detailed conditions within the bill. In the age of 22 the yeshiva member would receive a year of decision in which he would be able to choose if he would want to continue his studies or if he would rather go out to work. Those who would choose to go out and work would need to choose between a minimalist army service of four months and reserve duties according to the army's needs, or a civilian service of one year, without any salary. Those two options are from the age of 24. In addition to that, the bill also ruled that the IDF's Orthodox units would need to be expanded like the Orthodox Nahal units. The examination of the rest of the people who would be exempted under this agreement should be considered. The leadership of the yeshivas are demanded to cooperate on these matters.

Failure of the Tal Law

In July 2005, three years after the law began, the state admitted in a response to a petition submitted to the Supreme Court that the Tal law failed to change the arrangements of the enlistment of the orthodox Israeli Jews. Only a few dozen of orthodox Jews enlisted to the army as a result of the Tal law. The retired judge Tzvi Tal reacted, claiming that the state did not do a thing to enforce the law. Also the representatives of the state announced that propositions which were planned to be enforced, mainly the possibility of exchanging the army service with national service for the orthodox Israeli Jews that would rather do so, were not implemented. The minister of justice constituted the omissions of the Tal law in the letter to the Israeli prime minister.

The failure of the law is resonant in particular in light of the fact that during the period of its application a considerable budgetary transmission worsening was applied to the Jewish orthodox families, mainly in the pensions of the children. However this did not become an inducement to the departure from the yeshivas.

On the 11th of May, 2006, the Supreme Court determined that the Tal law is in contradiction with the human dignity of those who serve in the Israeli Army, and that the law was implemented in a groggy way that did not constitute a "worthy purpose" which would justify the damage to the rights of those who serve. However, the court determined that the law should be left untouched for an additional year and half in order to examine of its application would improve. Two judges were in a minority opinion. The judge Mishael Cheshin determined that the law was illegitimate from its foundation and completely contradicts the values of Israel as Jewish democratic state. The judge Asher Gronis decreed against the Supreme Court from interfering with the decisions of the Israeli parliament, unless they damage the rights of the minorities, whereas in case this the damaged part is the majority, and it needs to take care of its own rights.

In July 18th, 2007 The Israeli parliament decided on an extension of the Tal law for another Five years until 2012. [cite news | last = Meranda | first = Amnon | title = Knesset extends Tal Law by 5 years | publisher = Ynetnews.com | date = 2007-07-18 | url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3427136,00.html | accessdate = 2007-07-23]

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