In the past two weeks, 165 hareidi religious men signed up to take advantage of the Tal Law program and work in emergency and rescue services.The vast majority (88 percent) were married, with at least one child. The cabinet voted in February to extend the measure for the next five years.
The law, named after former Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal, was created as a compromise between those who insisted on mandatory military service for every citizen and those who fought to retain a long-standing deferment for yeshiva students who wish to continue rabbinic studies.
Under the program, yeshiva students are allowed to defer IDF service for up to four years, after which time they must decide whether to continue in yeshiva, enter civil service (emergency and rescue services) or enter the military.