News in Brief

15,000 join call for abolition of Tal Law

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel yesterday submitted to the High Court of Justice the signatures of 15,000 citizens who have requested to join the petition calling for the annulment of the Tal Law, which exempts yeshiva students from serving in the Israel Defense Forces. The movement said it had collected tens of thousands of additional signatures that would be brought to the court next week. This makes the document the numerically-largest petition ever submitted to the High Court. The petition contends that the law is inadmissible since it ignores the principle of equality. (Moshe Reinfeld)

MKs nix request to extend reserve duty

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee refused yesterday to approve the government's request to extend the orders allowing the Israel Defense Forces to mobilize reserve officers for 57 days, and regular reservists for 54 days. MK Naomi Chazan (Meretz) said that "the unbalanced distribution of the reserve service burden would be aggravated should the law to expand reserve days be renewed. It would be wrong to approve this law as long as a law increasing pay to reservists is not passed." Yesterday was the second time this week the committee refused to authorize the extension. (Gideon Alon)

Deaf get beepers for missile warnings

The Jewish Agency had started distributing emergency warning beepers to the hearing impaired for use in case of an Iraqi missile attack, an agency official said yesterday. About 5,500 beepers, which use lights and vibrations to alert their owners, will send instructions to "Take cover" and put on gas masks when there is word of an impending attack. The beepers will also give an "All clear" signal when it is deemed is safe to resume normal activity. Half the beepers, bought with contributions from American Jewish communities, had been distributed Tuesday, the agency said. (AP)