The Tal Law, which exempts ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from mandatory military service, was declared unconstitutional by the High Court in February, and is due to expire in August.
By Yair Ettinger | Jun.25, 2012
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox gathered on Monday morning in
Jerusalem's kikar Hashabbat (Sabbath Square) to protest the replacement
to the Tal Law, that exempts ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from
mandatory military service.
The protest, under the banner "Prayer rally for the cancelation of the
decree over civilian and military conscription," took place against a
background of the Plesner Committee, which is working on a replacement
for the Tal Law
The law, which the High Court of Justice declared unconstitutional in February, is to expire in August.
Hundreds of women also took part in the demonstration, and a side road
in the Mea Shearim neighborhood was set aside for the purpose.
The protest was organized by the Edah HaChareidis faction, but rabbis
from the central stream also took part, including Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach,
one of the spiritual leaders of Degel HaTorah.
Auerbach said during the protest that, "We must give our lives against
the drafting of yeshiva students [to the army]. In an issue that belongs
to the heart of Israel, there are no compromises."
Pini Rosenberg, one of the speakers at the rally, said: "Instead of
preparing the prisons for immigrants from Sudan, we suggest to those
haters of religion to prepare 50 thousand places of detention for
yeshiva students who will refuse to be drafted."
The Plesner Committee started working on a replacement for the Tal Law one month ago.
