Tal Law on Military Service Held up in Knesset
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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Photo: Pinheiro Roosewelt
The legislation aimed at replacing Israel’s Tal Law - which allows Yeshiva students to defer military service in Israel – is now in limbo after the Yisrael Beiteinu party in the Knesset announced on Thursday that it would no longer participate in the multi-party committee scheduled to issue recommendations on the matter.
The Tal Law, enacted a decade ago, effectively exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews who opt to study in yeshivas from military service. The High Court of Justice recently declared the law unconstitutional and said it must be replaced by Aug. 1 with a new law that does not discriminate against those who do serve in the military.
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman said his party made its move following the multi-party committee’s decision to avoid legislation that would apply the mandatory conscription or national service requirement to Israeli Arabs, Israel Hayom reported.
Arab lawmakers were furious at the prospect of compulsory service. “Arabs don’t have to be the victims of the Jewish war between Lieberman and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi of the Raam-Taal Party told Army Radio on Friday.
4:16 pm
Does the state of Israel claim, their state name is from Jacob or do they worship camp David their star of David? Jacob twin Esau the elder, is ruling the world, culture is wordly like Esau is art thou, Jacob is heritage (Jeremiah 17:4). What ever happened to the God of Jacob, (Luke 13:28) there are two Israel’s in the Bible? (*Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.*) At the end of time, the state of Israel will be exposed, because the real Jews of the Bible are tribes in the new Jerusalem *Revelation 21:12*. (Why did the state of Israel hide behind Jacob, the real children of Israel? Where did Esau the elder hide himself at, being Edomites, check out Turkey) Satan hides behind art, cunning, subtile as a serpent. Flattery is the secret weapon. *The white / red is Esau, the other two colors of man are black and pale is death (Revelation 6) By the way a gallop poll is for horses, the devil himself. Genesis 49:17 equals James 3:3
6:27 pm
Here are the facts of the matter…
The State of Israel has approximately 6.4 million Jews. How many Rabbis and Yeshiva students should be on the payroll and how many Yeshiva students should be exempt from national service ?
A Rabbi’s job includes : Officiating at services for Shabbat; Holy Days; Counselling, Mentoring; Being a fixed point of reference for a community; and assisting with life cycle events like births, shidduchs, weddings, brit milahs, bar/bat mitzvahs and deaths. If one Rabbi is needed per 1,000 people then this means Israel currently needs 6,400 “Doctors of the Law”. (Rabbis’ remuneration : 40 weeks p.a. at Shul; 4 weeks Training; 8 weeks Holiday. Pay $125,000 p.a.) You also need a reserve group of Rabbis to fill in when permanent Rabbis take a break from their shuls. (1,000 in number). You also need schochets, sofers and Rabbis skilled in divorce and funerals. (1,000 in number). Not all Yeshivah students go on to become Rabbis so let’s say 1,000 spots could be reserved p.a. for those interested in becoming Rabbis. Some attrition would be allowed to take place as people drop out of the course. Only the best and the brightest, like with scholarship programs in the West would be accepted. No more ersatz training by pseudo “important” institutions. Lastly you need a core group of head Rabbis, i.e. A Sanhedrin of 71, plus an administrative, management group to oversee the others of say 500. Total Rabbis/Yeshiva Students needed p.a. = Approx. 10,000 (Should Diaspora Rabbis be trained in Israel first ? Interesting question which would add to this number. Funding issues arise also.) So if the State/Kingdom is to fund the education of these yeshivah students the budget for this section of the population is limited. (The private/public partnership model of funding for Rabbis and institutions also has gotten messy. Too many crossed boundaries. The Sanhedrin, Rabbis and Yeshivah Students should be true “Public Servants”, not able to be or willing to be compromised.) These 1,000 Yeshivah Students would be exempted from national military service. It is all about getting the balance right. The 54,000 “exempted person’s” figure is out of kilter. The current ratio is not what Ben Gurion envisaged at the time of the founding of the state. In 64 years it has really blown out. It also is not the ratio that Moses, if he was alive today, would recommend for a modern nation state/kingdom.
A nation or kingdom needs to constantly monitor what types of jobs are necessary to keep things ticking over. The financial relationship between the taxpayer sector and the dependent sector which includes : Special Needs People; The Elderly; Homeless; Prisoners; Sick and Injured; Infants; Adolescents; and Students also needs to be monitored and managed properly so that resentment doesn’t build between different sections. People don’t mind paying their taxes or contributing “a shekel to the upkeep of the Temple” if everyone is contributing to the best of their abilities.
The key to a healthy economy and community is for everyone to contribute to the national effort in some way, shape or form. If everyone shares the load the burden becomes easier to shoulder.
Also, if the State of Israel makes the right moves in the coming days, weeks and months then the existential threats will diminish and the defence budget will be able to be trimmed. (Think the Isaiah “Swords into plowshares” dynamic kicking in.) So the Tal Law issue is connected to the larger geopolitical picture.