High Court Rules 'Tal Law' Can't be Extended

The High Court of Justice ruled late Tuesday evening to accept a petition against the legality of the Tal Law.

The law, which the Knesset passed in 2002, was designed to encourage ultra-Orthodox men to enlist in the IDF or for national service, while allowing exemptions for those who choose to study Torah full-time instead of serving.

In a majority ruling of six justices against three, the High Court determined that the law, the full title of which is the Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for Whom Torah Is Their Profession Law, is not constitutional, and therefore the Knesset cannot extend it in its present form when it expires on August 1.

The law was originally passed as a temporary law requiring renewal every five years.

The Movement for Quality Government watchdog group petitioned the High Court in 2007 against a Knesset vote that extended the law for an additional five years.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who originally sought to extend the law in its current form, said in response that he had already announced before Tuesday’s ruling that the Tal Law would not be continued in its current form.

“In the coming months, we will formulate a new law that will lead to a more just share of the burden of military service[among] all sectors of Israeli society,” he said.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, chairman of senior coalition partner Israel Beiteinu, welcomed the ruling. Opposition from his party and the Independence faction to the law’s extension led Netanyahu to back away last month from his plan to advance the law without change.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni welcomed the ruling, saying that justice had been served.

“The Zionist majority should replace the government, which is enslaving our future to sectors who are keeping it in power and harming the public,” she added.

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