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Last update - 11:34 05/06/2008 Only 80 yeshiva students opted for national service in past year By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: ayalon, IDF, Tal law  Only 80 yeshiva students have opted for civilian national service since this option was made available to them in July 2007. Despite this, Labor Party Minister Ami Ayalon, the minister charged with managing civilian national service, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Wednesday that he forecasts the number of civilian service volunteers will increase to 500 a year over the next four years. Ayalon's report is highly optimistic, as it predicts that by 2012 40 percent of the entire pool of yeshiva students who are eligible to be drafted by the Israel Defense Forces will enlist in civilian national service. In July 2007 the Knesset extended the Tal Law - which enables any yeshiva student who so desires to continue receiving a draft deferral of five years - despite fierce criticism from the High Court of Justice. Advertisement The law allows yeshiva students over age 22 to take one year off from their studies. During this period, they can acquire a profession or work without being drafted. At the end of the year, the students must choose between returning to full-time studies or completing abbreviated national service. The need to closely monitor the implementation of the Tal Law was raised in Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee sessions prior to the law's extension. In practice, however, no framework for civilian service was established during the law's first five years of operation. A key reason for this was the Finance Ministry's demand that anyone participating in such service be paid a much lower wage than the stipend given to yeshiva students. The proposed wage would not have enabled such students (many of whom are already married by age 22) to support their families, leading the other relevant bodies to deem the plan a nonstarter. The first monitoring team, headed by MK Tzahi Hanegbi, was only formed Wednesday. According to Ayalon's report, two thirds of the volunteers chose to complete their national service in a single year, while the rest elected to spread the length of their term over a two-year period. Last year, yeshiva students who received draft deferrals comprised 11 percent of the entire pool of 18-year-old males eligible to be drafted. By 2020, that rate is expected to reach 25 percent - 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. Related articles: Tal Law exempting ultra-Orthodox from military service set to expire Beilin proposes bill to overturn mandatory military service law Cabinet to extend Tal Law on army service for yeshiva students Barak refuses to exempt 1,000 Haredi men from army service Bookmark to del.icio.us   Terrorist donuts U.S. Arabs irate over criticism of celebrity cook's kaffiyeh. All the way to hell Rosner's blog: It's Obama's good intentions that pro-Israel activists fear.   1.   My son must go,so does a religious jew 11:47  |  Hans 05/06/08   2.   And my tax money pays for them 11:49  |  concerned citizen 05/06/08   3.   Draft dodgers 12:39  |  joseph theeboom 05/06/08   4.   national religious 13:21  |  m 05/06/08   5.   on the other hand, many Israeli-Arabs volunteered for IDF service 15:47  |  Rami 05/06/08   6.   To #2 17:14  |  aei 05/06/08   7.   Two wonderful outcome if Chareidim are finally drafted 22:39  |  = debits and credits 05/06/08   8.   They Don`t Serve Because Rabbi Elyashiv Won`t Allow Them To 20:44  |  Amos Berzon 06/06/08   9.   Haredi Missionaries 21:01  |  American Jew 06/06/08   10.   # 6 please sir I would be happy to explain 21:39  |  SJ 07/06/08   11.   It`s the lame duck gov`t. to blame for not drafting Hareidim 23:02  |  Donald D. 07/06/08   12.   question from Me 09:46  |  Rob of melbourne 08/06/08   13.   One solution. 10:50  |  Colin Wright 08/06/08

Read & React Shmuel Rosner: Obama and Jerusalem - did you really believe him? Responses: 38 U.S. proposes trilateral talks with Israel and PA Responses: 18 Defense sources:Talk of major IDF operation in Gaza is premature Responses: 19 Yossi Verter: Mofaz's Iran comment too pricey for party politics Responses: 16 Rosner's Domain Obama and Jerusalem: did you really believe him? Guest: Marrying within the faith isn't racism - it's self preservation Should you mess with the Zohan? (WTR) Poll: Philip Roth, Victor Frankl or Leon Uris? What did Obama say to Joe Lieberman? (WTR) More Headlines 07:18 U.S. proposes trilateral talks with Israel and PA 10:56 Defense official: Mofaz remark on Iran strike is not state policy 08:03 Hamas militant killed, another wounded by IDF fire in Gaza 10:55 Defense sources: Talk of major IDF operation in Gaza premature 08:39 Battered by rockets, Gaza-area kibbutz heads north for Shavuot 05:52 Remembering when our cause was just 08:32 ANALYSIS / Mofaz's Iran comments too high a price for party politics 07:58 Black Jewish filmmaker sets out to capture her identity 08:35 EU dignitaries hurt by IDF fire during West Bank protest 00:30 Clinton halts presidency bid, endorses Obama 08:34 Conditionally Jewish Previous Editions Select Day 06 jun 05 jun 04 jun 03 jun 02 jun 01 jun 30 may 29 may 28 may 27 may 26 may 25 may

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