An Army reserve officer has brought suit against the Government to end the exemption of yeshiva students from military service. The suit named Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. The Supreme Court opened hearings yesterday and will decide whether Gen. Dayan will be required to answer the suit. Yeshiva students in Israel have been exempt from military service since the State was established in 1948. They remain one of the few draft exempt groups in a country where every able-bodied male and female faces military conscription. The plaintiff in the case, a mathematics student, claimed that the policy was politically motivated and therefore invalid. He said the exempt status of some 5000 yeshiva students imposed undue hardship on reservists who must serve for longer periods owing to the nation’s mounting defense needs since the June, 1967 Six-Day War. He said his own studies had been interfered with and that the drafting of yeshiva students would ease the burden somewhat for all.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
