Barak refuses to exempt 1,000 haredim from IDF service

Defence minister orders his advisers to form new criteria which will allow new yeshiva students not to serve in army. 'We will not longer be a rubber stamp,' security source says.

Sixty-one new settlement recently requested to join the 50,000 haredim who have been exempted from military service as part of the "torato omanuto" (Torah is his profession) arrangement which exempts men from army service as long as they study Torah on a full-time basis.

According to security sources, the minister usually approves the additio...

Barak refuses to exempt 1,000 haredim from IDF service

Defence minister orders his advisers to form new criteria which will allow new yeshiva students not to serve in army. 'We will not longer be a rubber stamp,' security source says.

Sixty-one new settlement recently requested to join the 50,000 haredim who have been exempted from military service as part of the "torato omanuto" (Torah is his profession) arrangement which exempts men from army service as long as they study Torah on a full-time basis.

According to security sources, the minister usually approves the addition of new yeshivas to the arrangement automatically, but this time Barak decided to refrain from doing so.

"The Defence Ministry will not longer be a rubber stamp and will not approve each and every request to shirk military duty," a security source explained.

So the most vocal in favour of the military, the religious, themselves seek exemption from military service! How hypercritical! How typical.

0/03/2008
Civilian national service fails to attract yeshiva students
Haaretz

Only 50 yeshiva students have opted for civilian national service since this option was made available to them about six months ago, according to data provided by the head of the National Civilian Service Administration, Dr. Reuven Gal.

This is less than 0.1% of the more than 50,000 yeshiva students who currently receive draft deferrals. In other words, the Tal Law - which was meant to encourage yeshiva students to enter the job market by allowing them to perform civilian ser...

0/03/2008
Civilian national service fails to attract yeshiva students
Haaretz

Only 50 yeshiva students have opted for civilian national service since this option was made available to them about six months ago, according to data provided by the head of the National Civilian Service Administration, Dr. Reuven Gal.

This is less than 0.1% of the more than 50,000 yeshiva students who currently receive draft deferrals. In other words, the Tal Law - which was meant to encourage yeshiva students to enter the job market by allowing them to perform civilian service instead of military service (as opposed to keeping their draft deferral status by remaining in yeshiva and not seeking employment) - has thus far been a flop.

"We are maintaining a low profile," Gal explained. "The time has not yet come to make waves. Those who do civilian service are pleased with it, and every dozen brings another dozen."

This low profile stems from fear that if the program were widely publicized, it would spark opposition from ultra-Orthodox rabbis that would force it to shut down entirely. But without publicity, many yeshiva students do not even know that this option exists.

Last year, yeshiva students who received draft deferrals comprised 11% of the entire pool of draftable 18-year-old males. By 2020, that rate is expected to reach 25% - meaning that one out of every four 18-year-old males will be in yeshiva instead of the army. This makes solving the problem of yeshiva draft deferrals urgent

Nevertheless, the Tal Law - which enables any yeshiva
student who so desires to continue receiving a draft deferral - was
extended for another five years last July, under pressure from Shas.

The Tal law, enacted in 2002, was meant to encourage
yeshiva students to enter the working world by enabl