After the National Service Authority has been informing chareidim that they cannot accept new volunteers because of the precarious legal status that exists today, the cabinet has decided to compel a change. With the disqualification of the Tal Law by the Supreme Court, it has left a void regarding the national service option for chareidim.

The cabinet on Sunday 5 Teves decided to approve chareidi induction into national service programs to restore this as a viable option to IDF service for those wishing to take advantage of it.

The cabinet decision is the result of voting in an initiative presented by Minister of Senior Citizen Services (Bayit Yehudi) Uri Orbach and it results in a temporary fix until the cabinet and Knesset pass a new draft law. Shalom Jerbi, who heads the National Service Authority, last month announced he can no longer accept new applicants since the legal status permitting him to do so expired.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)