It now appears that Yahadut Hatorah, which boasted the return of higher monthly child payment allowances, will agree to the treasury plan that will result in less money in mom and dad’s account monthly. The plan that the treasury is willing to accept entails a NIS 170 allowance per child every month, but parents will only see NIS 120 as the remaining NIS 50 will be placed in a bank account, locked until the child reaches 18. The child will be able to break the account under certain conditions at 18, or at 21 without restrictions. According to the experts in the treasury, this will leave each child with NIS 20,000 – 30,000 according to today’s interest rates.
This is the treasury’s response to the coalition agreement signed with Yahadut Hatorah, promising the restoration of the monthly payments retroactively.
Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman on Tuesday afternoon 12 Menachem Av visited the Belzer Rebbe Shlita in his home to explain the plan presented by the treasury. Litzman entered the meeting with Rav Hershel Farkash, director of Merkaz Mosdos Belz, permitted the rav to thank Litzman personally for all he has done for the chassidus.
On Monday, Rav Mordechai Stern, the secretary of the Agudas Yisrael Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah, presented the plan to the admorim. The Torah council is expected to approve the plan upon recommendation of their respective Knesset representatives.
However, the voice of opposition in the chareidi camp is an audible one as many point out families are not able to make it through a month and the additional NIS 50 per child in many cases would be the difference of buying basic food items, adding the savings plan is cute but it will not help the families in 18 years for they are starving today. They add those who do not need the increased monthly sum can save for their children on their own but the starving families need every last shekel they can get and the NIS 50 per child is quite significant.
Opponents add that in a future government that does not include the chareidim, that government can easily decide the savings accounts will be eliminated and the money used for a different purpose.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
This is a face saving idea for the chareidi politicians who can now use this as an excuse for staying in the coalition and having more money in their own pockets as members of the coalition with extra titles they wouldn’t have if they left the coalition.
Corruption!!