Another budget cut aimed at the Chareidi population was announced on Thursday, only a day after Finance Minister Avigdor Leiberman announced the elimination of daycare subsidies for avreichim.
MK Oded Forer, a member of Lieberman’s party Yisrael Beiteinu and Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galil, announced that the ministry’s funds for Bein HaZemanim trips for tens of thousands of Bnei Yeshivos will be eliminated.
The Israeli business daily Calcalist published a report on Thursday on the trip program, an initiative of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, with the false claim that 86% of the funded trips were for yeshivah students. However, the report also clearly stated that the cost of the trips for yeshivah bochurim is only a fourth of the cost of the trips for the other students since the bochurim only went on day trips. Therefore the total cost for all students was equal. Furthermore, the funds went directly to the tourist attractions and other sites in the Galil and no funds were transferred to schools or yeshivos.
Despite this, Forer responded to the report by stating: “The project will not continue in its current format and will be altered in a way that meets the ministry’s vision and goals.”
The Yisrael Beiteinu party gleefully announced the revocation of the trips on social media, repeating the erroneous statement that: “86% of the trips funded by the Ministry of Development of the Negev and Galilee periphery during Aryeh Deri’s time were for yeshivah students. Minister Oded Forer decided to put an end to this discrimination.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
Why are they entitled to this?
Well that will free up a lot of time to protest the new government…
I guess these guys are not concerned about Hashem’s cuts__too bad__i kvell for my Torah Boys and Girls__nothing is as great as this and those who wish to stop this shows how little greatness exists in their souls or hearts___shame on them ….. shame on those who voted for this__
How exactly do vacation trips promote the learning of Torah? Seems the opposite to me.
Good news
Now all the bochurim will attend rallies instead of going on trips. We need the youth to turn over the cities to fight the shmad campaign.
The government pays for recreational camping trips?????
The only American who gets to go to the country on the public’s dime is the president, and Camp David is used for national security reasons.
@aml: a little vacation is in fact EXTREMELY important not just to “promote the learning of Torah” but even more for their physical and emotional health.
We are not talking about vacationing weeks in a hotel in Florida or spending 2 months in a bungalow colony – all they do is going for 3 days to a different place within Israel.
So obviously, Lieberman shem reshoim yirkov and his cohorts simply don’t care about the well-being of Chareidim. He’ll continue to pay for other students, just not for chareidim.
@akuperma: Americans even the poor ones have plenty of opportunity for recreational activities; not so the Yeshiva Bochrim who sit in Beis Hamedrash ALL day – to give them a few days out is good for them and good for country.
צדיקים מלאכתם נעשית ע”י אחרים
It’s about time the yeshiva boys stop taking zionist money for this purpoae. I never had any intention of funding their vacations. Then they come to me for shabbos and can’t get to shul because they are so-so tired
I don’t like Leiberman, but why is the Israeli government required to pay for bein hazemanim trips? Not giving out as much free stuff as you want is an interesting definition of anti-Semitism . . .
Really stupid and counter-productive. I can understand their desire to reduce subsidies for Chareidi families where one of the parents won’t work at least part-time but getting the yungerleit out on day trips during bein hazmanim actually helps to broaden their horizons, enjoy the natural environment and inevitably, mix to some degree with others in the course of visiting parks, etc. Lieberman is his own worst enemy and only increases the polarization across segments of society.
(a) The Calcalist articles states that 60% of the funds were allocated to Charedim, not a quarter. (Charedim got 5.3m Sheqel, Non-Charedim only received 3.6 million sheqel.
(b) Oded Forer never said that he will eliminate the program; he said that it will be revised from its current format.
(c) Arye Deri has a lot of explaining to do.
akuperma:
The Zionist entity is a socialist paradise.