During a session of the Knesset Finance Committee, Chairman Moshe Gafne spoke about the budgetary discrimination that exists between the nation’s secular court system and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Batei Din. He explains that the secular system continues to receive funding while the batei din are forgotten and the system is in shambles as a result.

Gafne explained that he blames himself for any MK who cares must act on the matter. He decried the situation and questions why the attorney general does not share his outrage due to the blatant discrimination. He explains that in Haifa the beis din is flooded and in Ashkelon, the secular court moved into a new building that is complete and the beis din was given the old run down secular court.

He predicts that at some time when he and his colleagues insist on allocating a proper budget for the nation’s batei din “They will yell the chareidim once again extorted money from the government”, explaining when the secular courts get a proper budget everyone remains silent, as they should. He added the current situation is unacceptable and it is a chilul Hashem. He warned if the necessary steps are not taken to allocate a respectable budget for the nation’s batei din he will hold back the budget of the Justice Ministry until someone gets the message.

As the meeting was ending Gafne turned to the Finance Ministry representative at the meeting, instructing him to prepare the groundwork for allocating the necessary budget to the nation’s batei din.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)