UTJ MK Yitzhak Pindrus spoke from the Knesset podium on Sunday and said Moody’s decision to lower Israel’s credit rating was due to the budget cuts to yeshivos.

Moody’s on Friday downgraded Israel’s credit rating two notches to “Baa1” from “A2.”

According to Pindrus, the cost of the rating downgrade is 350 million shekels.

“The actual amount that will be affected by the downgrade and the cost of credit is of 350 million shekels, not seven billion,” Pindrus said.

“There’s a midrash about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who convinced his nephews to give tzedaka. By year-end, the minister came and asked them for a tax – and jailed them. The family came to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and told him about it. Rabbi Shimon replied: ‘Check how much they actually gave in charity. For the amount they gave, they won’t have to pay tax. On the difference – they will.'”

“Do you know what 350 million shekels is?” Pindrus asked. “That’s the amount you cut from the yeshiva world; you will have to pay that amount.”

It should be noted that the decision to cut the funding to yeshivos was not made by the current government but by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara and the Supreme Court.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)