 As a result, Benjamin Netanyahu was appointed as the Foreign Minister on November 1, and Shaul Mofaz was appointed as the defense minister the next day (a move which aroused much criticism due to its timing - Mofaz was appointed to this position only four months after he finished serving in the military as the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces).Eventually Sharon announced the dissolution of the Knesset and early elections.On 23 July 2002, the Knesset approved the Tal Law as an attempt to reach a compromise to the public demand that the Israeli ultra-Orthodox citizens would share an equal extent of obligations which other Israeli citizens are required to fulfill, specifically requiring them to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.