Tal Committee

The Tal Committee was an Israeli public committee appointed on 22 August 1999 which dealt with the special exemption from mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) given to Israeli ultra Orthodox Jews which had been the status quo from the time of Ben Gurion, as well as extending mandatory military service to Israeli Arabs. The committee was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak and was initially headed by former Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal. The committee was later headed by Yohanan Plesner before its official dissolution on 2 July 2012, two days before submitting its report, hence the term Plesner Committee. Based on the committee recommendations, on 23 July 2002 the Knesset passed the temporary Tal Law, which expired after five years and was renewed. The law authorises a continuation of the exemption to yeshiva students subject to the conditions within the law. According to the law, at the age of 22, yeshiva students have a "decision year" and can choose between one year civilian national service alongside a paying job or a shortened 16 month military service and future service in the reserves as an alternative to continuing to study. Five motions against the law were filed with the High Court of Justice claiming it violated the principle of equality. In 2005, the state admitted, in a response to a Supreme Court petition, that the Tal Law had failed to change enlistment arrangements for ultra Orthodox Jews, as only a few dozen had enlisted in the army as a result. The law was then extended in 2007 for another five years. On 21 February 2012, the High Court ruled that the law is unconstitutional.

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, Arabs, and others), it was based on a ministerial order and not specified in the law. In 1974 only 2.4% of the soldiers enlisting to the army that year were exempt because they were yeshiva members, under the Torato Omanuto arrangement. This number reached 9.2% in 1999, when it was anticipated that this percentage will reach 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. 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 presented data which indicates an unreasonable rise in the number of exempt young men. According to that data the number of the students grew 237% between the years 1985–1998, while the number of young men growth at the same period was 354%. This disproportional increase, creating an economical and a security burden on the other sectors of the Israeli population, led to an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court. The Tal committee was appointed after the Supreme Court determined that the minister of defense had no authority to determine the extent of the exemption from army service given to ultra Orthodox yeshiva students. The ruling also elaborated on the need for a legislative solution, dealing with all aspects of the issue.

Shas leader and Interior Minister Eli Yishai said that following the High Court's declaration of the “unconstitutional” Tal Law he would "submit a Tal Law substitute for second and third readings before the end of the Knesset summer session. I will oppose any form of sanctions against Yeshiva students who refuse to be drafted." Mofaz said Netanyahu should be given more time to resolve the issue. Netanyahu's office issued a statement in reaction to the report that read: "The draft dodger will not get the same reception as the service member." He also said that a bill to be presented to the Knesset at the end of the month "will be hard for Haredim." Netanyahu also announced that two new teams would be set up, but Mofaz rejected the moves and insisted that the recommendations of the Plesner Committee be adopted, causing a rift in Likud Kadima relations. However, Haaretz read this in saying that "hardness is subjective," and that "in the end, everything is political. But beyond politics there is also substance. The report is the most thorough, serious and genuine document ever written on the issue of Haredim who avoid military service, the product of long months of work that began before the committee was even appointed. It does historic justice and ends decades of infuriating and outrageous discrimination between 'blood and blood.' This is undoubtedly Plesner's finest hour. It could also be Netanyahu's. An op ed in the Jerusalem Post also defended Plesner's recommendations in saying that a "majority will be drawn out of hiding." The New York Times asked about the issue as an emblematic of a conflict within Israeli society. It said that the "debate over these details masks a more fundamental and fractious one about evolving identity in this still young state, where a 'people’s army' has long been a defining principle, and about the growing cleavage among its tribes." On 17 May, thousands of ultra orthodox Jews protested against the implementation of the law.

As a result of the uncertainty over the expiry of the law on 1 August 2012, Haaretz also cited a "record number" of Haredim volunteers. As the Camp Sucker Movement gained progress, tens of thousands of protestors attended rallies in support of universal service for Haredim and Israeli Arabs in early July. Protestors include IDF reservists, disabled veterans, social activists and politicians. According to the Times of Israel, the rally drew 50,000 people. The IDF also published statistics in August 2012 that showed over a third of reservists are West Bank settlers.