After decades of debate and legal ambiguity, in 2002, the Knesset passes the ‘Tal Law,’ which allows military-aged Israeli “Yeshiva students whose occupation is the study of Torah” to officially defer, and often be exempted from compulsory military service. The law, based on the recommendations of the Tal Committee, appointed in 1998, sparks wide spread controversy, as many non-orthodox Israelis (roughly 80% of Israel’s Jewish population) find this ruling to be an unfair imbalance of duty to the state amongst Israel’s population. In 2006 the Israeli Supreme Court convenes to review the efficacy of the law, finding it lawful yet a temporary solution. In 2012, following petitions to review the law again, the Supreme Court reassess its 2006 ruling, ultimately deciding that Yeshiva students must complete their mandatory IDF service, regardless of religious studies.
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