Four petitioners, including the Meretz and Shinui parties, attorney Yehuda Ressler, the Israel Acheret Movement, and the Movement for Quality Government asked the court to revoke the law, named after former Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal.
Tal headed a public committee which drafted the legislation, passed by the Knesset in 2002 for a five-year trial period.
The law was created as a compromise between those who insisted on mandatory military service for everyone and those who fought to keep a long-standing deferment for yeshiva students who wish to continue rabbinic studies.
The law states that students from ages 23 to 27 may take 12 months off after their four years of Torah studies as a “year of decision” to decide whether to enter the military, get a job or learn a trade.
Chief Justice Aaron Barak wrote that the matter must be resolved by national consensus, adding that the Knesset’s passing of the Tal law has resulted in serious damage regarding the feeling of equality among those eligible for military service.
The chief justice spoke of “tolerance and understanding,” admitting there will be additional petitions and hearings on the subject in the future. Barak stressed that the Tal Law could not be overturned by the Judicial system, as a legal solution cannot be imposed by the courts. Rather, consensus must be achieved through dialogue and patience.
Likud Knesset member Reuben Rivlin praised the Supreme Court for not interfering in social affairs and upholding the law. He said the ruling backs the Knesset as the final authority and that the public, rather than the judicial system, is the judge.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz criticized the ruling, claiming, “There is no reason my children should serve and others will not serve.” Other military officials criticized the religious community, stating “there is no equality.”
Meretz representative Uri Keidar said the ruling came as a blow to those who have fought for years to force hareidi-religious students to serve in the IDF. “The law so severely damages equal rights in Israel,” he said in an interview on Army Radio.
Party Chairman Yossi Beilin expressed his disappointment with the decision as well. “The only practical solution for the situation is that all Israeli citizens of a certain age be drafted,” he maintained.
The ruling also negated Ressler’s 36-year campaign to force the government to draft yeshiva students. Throughout Ressler’s three and a half decades of struggle against religious exemptions, he has insisted that the allowances “discriminate between equal citizens according to their religion and studies and discriminate between blood and blood.”
In July 2005, Ressler asked the nine justices on the Court panel to end the dispute one way or the other. “I have a request of you,” he said. “Don’t postpone the decision, because I am losing the wind in my sails.” He told the Court that he still believed the judicial system had the authority to rescind a Knesset law though it would be a difficult decision to make. “I know it is hard to issue a verdict that rescinds a Knesset law,” he said. “It takes guts. But the time has come. Please – rule.”
The State Prosecutor’s Office, charged with defending the Tal law in court, meanwhile, was also not happy with its own mandate to support the law, in opposition to the current spate of appeals to cancel it.
“This is not an appropriate situation that should be preserved and perpetuated,” wrote attorneys Osnat Mendel and Avi Licht, but the legislator’s position is that forced conscription will not resolve the problem. In light of the uncompromising position of the ultra-Orthodox minority, forced conscription could exact a high social price and expand the existing rift”.
In addition to the “ultra-Orthodox minority” cited by Mendel and Licht, however, both the Druze and Bedouin minority populations in Israel are also given a choice whether to enter the IDF or not. There is no mandatory draft for either group.
Even as the latest round of petitions pushed for mandatory draft of yeshiva students, the IDF is planning to exempt tens of thousands of army reserve soldiers by the end of 2006 as a part of the reform in army regulations. Most of those slated to receive the “thank you for your contribution to the nation” letters are assigned to non-combat units.
Tal headed a public committee which drafted the legislation, passed by the Knesset in 2002 for a five-year trial period.
The law was created as a compromise between those who insisted on mandatory military service for everyone and those who fought to keep a long-standing deferment for yeshiva students who wish to continue rabbinic studies.
The law states that students from ages 23 to 27 may take 12 months off after their four years of Torah studies as a “year of decision” to decide whether to enter the military, get a job or learn a trade.
Chief Justice Aaron Barak wrote that the matter must be resolved by national consensus, adding that the Knesset’s passing of the Tal law has resulted in serious damage regarding the feeling of equality among those eligible for military service.
The chief justice spoke of “tolerance and understanding,” admitting there will be additional petitions and hearings on the subject in the future. Barak stressed that the Tal Law could not be overturned by the Judicial system, as a legal solution cannot be imposed by the courts. Rather, consensus must be achieved through dialogue and patience.
Likud Knesset member Reuben Rivlin praised the Supreme Court for not interfering in social affairs and upholding the law. He said the ruling backs the Knesset as the final authority and that the public, rather than the judicial system, is the judge.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz criticized the ruling, claiming, “There is no reason my children should serve and others will not serve.” Other military officials criticized the religious community, stating “there is no equality.”
Meretz representative Uri Keidar said the ruling came as a blow to those who have fought for years to force hareidi-religious students to serve in the IDF. “The law so severely damages equal rights in Israel,” he said in an interview on Army Radio.
Party Chairman Yossi Beilin expressed his disappointment with the decision as well. “The only practical solution for the situation is that all Israeli citizens of a certain age be drafted,” he maintained.
The ruling also negated Ressler’s 36-year campaign to force the government to draft yeshiva students. Throughout Ressler’s three and a half decades of struggle against religious exemptions, he has insisted that the allowances “discriminate between equal citizens according to their religion and studies and discriminate between blood and blood.”
In July 2005, Ressler asked the nine justices on the Court panel to end the dispute one way or the other. “I have a request of you,” he said. “Don’t postpone the decision, because I am losing the wind in my sails.” He told the Court that he still believed the judicial system had the authority to rescind a Knesset law though it would be a difficult decision to make. “I know it is hard to issue a verdict that rescinds a Knesset law,” he said. “It takes guts. But the time has come. Please – rule.”
The State Prosecutor’s Office, charged with defending the Tal law in court, meanwhile, was also not happy with its own mandate to support the law, in opposition to the current spate of appeals to cancel it.
“This is not an appropriate situation that should be preserved and perpetuated,” wrote attorneys Osnat Mendel and Avi Licht, but the legislator’s position is that forced conscription will not resolve the problem. In light of the uncompromising position of the ultra-Orthodox minority, forced conscription could exact a high social price and expand the existing rift”.
In addition to the “ultra-Orthodox minority” cited by Mendel and Licht, however, both the Druze and Bedouin minority populations in Israel are also given a choice whether to enter the IDF or not. There is no mandatory draft for either group.
Even as the latest round of petitions pushed for mandatory draft of yeshiva students, the IDF is planning to exempt tens of thousands of army reserve soldiers by the end of 2006 as a part of the reform in army regulations. Most of those slated to receive the “thank you for your contribution to the nation” letters are assigned to non-combat units.