The Ministerial Law Committee on Monday, 8 Shevat, decided to protect shul assets and declare outside the realm of items that can be confiscated in a collection process.

The final vote of the Ministerial Committee amends the state ‘hatza’ot l’poel’ collection services law. The new law states that if the state collection agency issues an order to confiscate assets towards paying a debt, the furniture and contents of a shul, church and mosque are off-limits.

The author of the bill is MK (Shas) Yoav Ben-Tzur who explains the Torah teachers us that we should not confiscate the basics that one requires in an effort to collect a debt and he feels most of the items found in a shul are donated by mispallalim and confiscating such items borders on the absurd since all the mispallalim would suffer. Ben-Tzur explains that taking shul furniture to pay a water bill is unacceptable. He did however agree that a Sefer Torah could be taken and sold to pay a debt, perhaps if the shul owes a sofer money for writing a Sefer Torah or perhaps to a professional who installed air conditioners for if not, gabbaim could chas v’sholom take advantage of the status and not pay professionals for services.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)