Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Shteinitz managed to enlist the necessary support to approve a major wage hike for civil service rabbis, those rabbonim who are appointed as rav of a city, the daily Yisrael HaYom reports.
The initiative came from Minister of Religious Services (Shas) Yaakov Margi, supported by MK (Yahadut HaTorah) Moshe Gafne, with the latter chairing the Knesset Finance Committee.
A rav of a city with over 250,000 residents today earns a gross (before taxes) salary of 18,900 NIS. After the raise, the salary will increase by 10,000 NIS monthly. A rav in a city with 50,000-100,000 residents will receive a monthly increase of 12,000 NIS. The report states that in many cases, the raise will double a rav’s monthly salary.
There are 120 rabbonim today who serve in this capacity. In 2005, their salaries were cut as the national government felt compelled to generate funds to bail out ailing local governments.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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“civil service rabbi” – to an American, the term is mind boggling since unlike a place such as England where clergy have always been government employees, the idea that a “clergyman” will have a primary duty of serving the state and its laws, rather than those of the creator, is an obscene pervision. In Israeli terms, either you are working for Ha-Shem, or you are working for Mr. Peres and Mr. Netanyahu (and someday perhaps, Livni or Barak or Yachimovich).