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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18185/full/18185/secular-religious-strife-ignited-over-yeshiva-deferrals/ <br /><br /> <b>Secular-religious strife ignited over yeshiva deferrals</b> <br /> Friday, July 26, 2002 | by <p>NAOMI SEGALJewish Telegraphic Agency </p> <br /><br /><p>A source of bitter debate for years, the so-called Tal bill was given final approval Tuesday by the Knesset in a 51-41 vote.<br /><br /> Named after former Supreme Court Justice Zvi Tal, who headed a commission to resolve the issue of the military deferrals, the bill calls for granting yeshiva students draft deferrals until age 22, when they can then to take a year off from studies to work without being drafted.<br /><br /> At the end of that year, the students will be required to decide whether to declare Torah their "profession" and resume their studies or do a shortened military service or one year of national service.<br /><br /> Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who opposed yeshiva deferrals before taking office, told legislators he was voting for the bill "with a heavy heart."<br /><br /> Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, referring to the Israeli army's ongoing efforts to clamp down on Palestinian violence, said that whoever seeks to pass the Tal bill now is "disconnected from the people."<br /><br /> During Tuesday's Knesset session, legislators rejected an amendment that would require yeshiva students to serve two weeks each year in the civil guard.<br /><br /> Last week, the Knesset committee that prepared the Tal bill had approved the amendment—but the committee reversed its decision on Monday.<br /><br /> The Tal bill will go into effect in six months and last for five years. Near the end of that period, another Knesset debate will be held to decide whether to renew the law.<br /><br /> The Tal bill's approval came four years after Israel's High Court of Justice struck down the Defense Ministry's 50-year-old arrangement for granting exemptions to yeshiva students.<br /><br /> Critics claimed the arrangement had evolved from a means to promote Torah study for a limited number of Jewish scholars into a rubber stamp for thousands of draft dodgers.<br /><br /> At issue are draft exemptions granted annually to fervently religious Israelis who declare "Torah their conscience."<br /><br /> The arrangement was devised by Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who authorized the defense minister to grant a limited number of draft exemptions and deferrals to yeshiva students.<br /><br /> In 1954, when the arrangement was signed, some 400 yeshiva students were granted deferrals. According to recent estimates, that number has reached 30,000.<br /><br /> The High Court of Justice ruled in 1998 that the arrangement had created a sense of inequality in Israeli society, and was not anchored in law. It asked the Knesset to pass legislation resolving the issue one way or another.<br /><br /> Over the years, the issue has become a political hot potato. Sharon and his predecessor, Ehud Barak, spoke out against the exemptions before they came into power, only to moderate their positions upon becoming prime minister.<br /><br /> The issue has become even more volatile in light of the intifada, which has focused attention on providing security for Israel's citizens.</p> <p> </p>

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