Tal Committee - Tal Law

In April 2000 the committee presented its report, which served as a basis for the legislation of the Deferral of Military Service for Yeshiva Students Law, also called the Tal Law on March 7, 2001. On July 23, 2002, the Tal Law in an expanded and updated version was passed in the Knesset by a majority of 51 against 41. It is a temporary law which needs to be renewed every five years. The law enables a continuation of the exempts to yeshiva students which is subject to detailed conditions. Yeshiva students have the option to defer their military service until they are 22. When they reach that age, they have a “decision year” in which they can perform a year of vocational training, and then decide whether to join the army for a minimum of 16 months followed by annual reserve duty, or to perform a year of unpaid civilian national service, if they decide not to continue to study full-time. In addition, the law also provided for the IDF's Orthodox units would need to be expanded like the Orthodox Nahal units. It also recommended that those included in the arrangement be carefully supervised and checked while enforcing the set conditions. The leadership of the yeshivas were required to cooperate on these matters. After the law was passed, the Movement for Quality Government submitted a petition to the High Court, seeking an annulment of the law. The law was also to affect recruitment within the Arab population and was later reported to have been supported by the de facto leader of the Lithuanian and all non-Hasidic Haredim Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman.

In July 2005, three years after the law took effect, the state admitted—in a response to a petition to the Supreme Court—that the law had failed to change enlistment arrangements for Orthodox Jews as only a few dozen had enlisted to the army as a result of the law. Tzvi Tal responded that the state did not do anything to enforce the law. Also, state representatives announced that propositions planned for enforcement, mainly optional exchange of national service for army service for Orthodox Jews, were not implemented. The minister of justice constituted the omissions of the Tal Law in the letter to the Israeli prime minister.

On May 11, 2006, the Supreme Court determined that the Tal Law contradicts with the human dignity of those who serve in the Israeli Army, and that the law was implemented in a vague way that did not constitute a "worthy purpose" that would justify damage to rights of those who serve. However, the court determined that the law should be left untouched for an additional year and a half to see if its application would improve. Two judges held a minority opinion. Judge Mishael Cheshin determined that the law was illegitimate from its foundation, and completely contradicts the values of Israel as a Jewish democratic state, and Judge Asher Grunis said that the Court shouldn't interfere with Knesset decisions unless they damage rights of minorities, whereas in this case the damaged part is the majority, which must take care of its own rights.

On July 18, 2007 the Knesset decided to extend the Tal Law for another five years until August 2012. The Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court again. Paradoxically, the petition promoted the law’s implementation, as the state tried to prove that it does encourage military or civilian national service. But according to the data submitted to the Court, only a few more ultra-Orthodox men served in the IDF.