The representatives of the Chareidi and Religious Zionist parties made an unequivocal demand during coalition negotiations to double the budget for yeshivos. An agreement was reached with the Likud negotiations team that the funding for avreichim will increase to NIS 1,314 per month and to NIS 730 for bochurim.
Additionally, until now, the budget for the olam hayeshivos was limited to NIS 1.2 billion, with no increases for natural growth. According to a Channel 12 News report, there will now be no limit, with the total budget expected to reach NIS 2.5-3 billion.
The demand comes after 25 years during which kollel stipends steadily decreased to NIS 680, despite the increases in the cost of living.
The demand was first raised by Shas on Thursday morning and was raised again by the UTJ party in the afternoon. Religious Zionist Party chairman Betzalel Smotrich also demanded an increase in kollel stipends as a condition for joining the coalition. “The result of these elections reflects a clear and unequivocal statement of the majority of the Israeli people,” Smotrich said to the head of the Likud negotiation team, MK Yariv Levin.
“Am Yisrael value lomdei Torah and believe that our hold on this land is derived from our hold on Toras Yisrael. It’s a zechut for the State of Israel to support lomdei Torah, of course alongside the encouragement of employment and the economic development of Israel.”
Smotrich added: “The stipend will be given equally to Religious Zionist and Chareidi avreichim. The time has come for a shared front on core issues that are precious to all shomrei mitzvos. Lomdei Torah are entitled to recognition without differentiation.”
All religious MKs asserted that the time has come for the budgetary discrimination against religious students and institutions to end, especially in the wake of the billions of shekels that the Bennett-Lapid-Lieberman government gave to the Islamist Ra’am party.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
yes, what on earth why were we giving anything to Ra’am
of wait… that was the רשע bennet I forgot
Well, Israel is already a Socialist country – they are giving the money away anyway – so they might as well be the ones to get it.
why are bochurim getting paid? or is it for tuition?
Amazing, I love it!
Bless this…217 years till 6000, we need more Torah …
Why is stealing from the population a cause for celebration? I don’t care how noble the cause is! This is a chilul Hashem!! If you want Kollelim and Yeshivos so support them from your own money. You’re gonna say but hey the state is anyways taxing everyone and giving the money to all schools and institutions so we may as well, right? Wrong! When the state was founded and the Chareidim were a super minority so maybe then with a Horaas Shaa you can take for the sake of survival. Don’t be fooled by campaign slogans, there is no real threat to the Torah world, lets be honest we ain’t going nowhere. Lets stop being small minded, it’s time to LEAD. The opportunity is here and now. Show the world what a true Torah country looks like. The Government is not your father, grandmother or babysitter! Tzedaka in the Torah is ALWAYS a personal responsibility to be given directly to the poor. Not to governments aka corruption.
Socialism, aka government wealth redistribution is a watered down version of communism which was borne out of and still practiced by the most atheist of countries (China, N. Korea, Pre-war Russia).
Rabbosai we need to demand a 180 degree policy turnaround. Enough with empty “Gevald” and identity politics. If we say were a party that cares about Torah so then we should ACT like the Torah way, not use corrupt communist ideas to fund Torah. Israel was founded on communism/socialism and although has made tremendous progress becoming one of the world’s strongest economies in the world, there is so much more that needs to be done! There are more Yeshiva educated, Kippa wearing, Shomrei Shabbos good fine Yidden in the upcoming Knesset than ever before, they’re actually the overwhelming majority. Who knows when the next such opportunity will arise? We must take advantage of it. Take example from Moshe Rabbeinu and Shmuel Hanavi the greatest leaders in our history. Their mantra was “never did I take even one of your donkeys” while currently every donkey (car) purchase in Israel involves the government stealing another one from you to “fund important public services” The Neviim go on and on about all Hashem really wants from us: Tedek and Mishpat. Capitalism on its own may be a failure. Socialism is the road to hell paved with good intentions. The Torah was mechadesh a 3rd balanced and approach, that the government (almost always) stays away from other people’s money and transfers the responsibility to feed and cloth the poor directly to the people themselves. The World has yet to see the sucess and beauty that such a society will bring forth. We have been waiting to return to Eretz Yisroel for 2000 years and once again make Yerushalaim that “Ir Hatzedek”. Tzion bMishpat tipadeh, lets give it our all to make this happen bMehira bYameinu Amein!
Stealing from everyone else to support Bochurim smoking, protesting and drinking coffee all day, with a small splash of learning. Reshaim exactly like the left.
Moshiach: Yes and no. The Torah says שֵֽׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד – “Six days (out of every week) you must work”. Many people seem to forget this. Yet at the same time, the welfare system in Israel supports the likes of Arab Muslims and other minorities, so why not provide some relief for Jews?
Of the life prescribed by tradition for a Torah scholar, chapter 6 (the Baraita) of Avot says:
פַּת בַּמֶּלַח תֹּאכֵל וּמַיִם בַּמְּשׂוּרָה תִּשְׁתֶּה וְעַל הָאָרֶץ תִּישָׁן וְחַיֵּי צַעַר תִּחְיֶה וּבַתּוֹרָה אַתָּה עָמֵל – “You will eat a morsel of bread with salt and drink water by measure; you will sleep upon the ground and live a life of distress”.
So no, the Chaza”l do not prescribe a life of luxury for the unemployed Torah scholar. But there is a strong tradition of providing communal support for his holy, devoted path. Just look at the porush (separatist ascetic) of Europe (not to be confused with the Pharisees of old). The very few who chose such a life of spiritual idealism were profound scholars who learned day and night in an elite, highly select kloyz, which unlike the local Bes Medrash was closed to the general public.
The townsfolk would bring food to these perushim. Oftentimes married with children, these spiritual giants, angels in the midst of a hellish world, chose this rare path. If you read up on perushim like R’ Mordechai Tzvi Manbi zt”l, a.k.a. “The Porush of Bobroisk,” and others like him, you will see how great they were in both learning and righteousness. The Bobroisker Porush was also considered a great miracle worker. (He was also called “Der Blinder Porush,” The Blind Porush, because he would wear a cloth above his eyes and keep his gaze low.)
The Beit ha-Levi himself (R’ Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik zt”l – d. 1892) wrote approbations for the few books the Porush published. For the Porush’s classic מפתח האגדות, which alphabetizes the narratives of the Talmud, Soloveitchik referred to him as ידיד ה’ וידיד מודעיו, הרב המפורסם בחסידות ופרישות, מאד נעלה, רב פעלים, גדול בתורה ויראה – “A friend to G-d and a friend to those who have made his acquaintance, the rabbi renowned for chasidut (in the classical, non-Beshtian sense) and separatist asceticism, quite eminent, a man of wondrous deeds, great in Torah and fear (of Heaven).”
Aside from the Churban itself, one of the greatest tragedies of modern Jewish history is the loss of the manuscripts and even the names of the few dozen known or near anonymous perushim zt”l who perished in the War. Ge’onim every last one of them. Totally selfless and exceedingly humble. (Perhaps a reason they are not known even generally is because they were from the camp of the Misnaggedim.)
Past that, we have the institution of the hekdesh, hostel, which for many centuries of European Jewish life provided food and lodgings for wayfarers and indigents. Not to mention congregational tzedakah funds, which many pulpit rabbis oversee or help to oversee. Etc., etc.