Three years ago, Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) decided to charge girls attending a chareidi school for baalei teshuvah despite the fact they were not yet 18-years-old and still in high school, and therefore, not required to pay their own Bituach Leumi. Bituach Leumi claimed that since the chareidi girl’s school was not recognized, it is if as they completed high school, and if they do not enter the IDF or an official state service program, they are compelled to begin paying Bituach Leumi.

The parents of a girl, whom have since become frum, took her out of her secular school and put her in the veteran Jerusalem school, Kiryat Bnos on Sorotzkin Street. Bituach Leumi did not like the decision of the parents and not only began charging for her, but did so retroactively, sending them a bill for NIS 2,200.

Chareidi attorney and expert in dealing with Bituach Leumi, Uzi Aharon entered the picture and filed against Bituach Leumi in the High Court of Justice, which referred the case to the Tel Aviv Labor Court. After a year of hearings, the court accepted the position of Aharon, compelling Bituach Leumi to pay the family NIS 3,500 despite the fact the original sum was only NIS 2,200. The court’s decision was accepted by the beis din as well.

Bituach Leumi was unwilling to accept the ruling, appealing to the National Labor Court. The court adjudicated the case for about a half of a year and released its verdict close to Purim, citing the Bituach Leumi case has no merit, leaving the original ruling in place.

The court’s decision spanned an 18-page document, in the precedent-setting case. Now, even if one attends a non-recognized chareidi school, one is not required to pay Bituach Leumi until one reaches the age of 18.

The Bituach Leumi claim that anyone above the age of 18 can declare any institution as an educational institution was rejected by the court and ruled that if Bituach Leumi had any objections to any institution [school], it may turn to the Labor Court to decide the matter.

In addition, the National Labor Court has set a fee of NIS 5,000, increasing it from the original NIS 3,500.

Bituach Leumi responds: “The Ministry of Education is the body responsible for determining who is a high school student, and Bituach Leumi automatically receives the list of students from the Ministry of Education, and accordingly grants the exemption to high school students who are not yet 19-years-old.

“We appealed the ruling, because it meant that Bituach Leumi would be responsible for examining whether the educational institutions that are not recognized by the Ministry of Education meet the criteria of the law, and therefore we have appealed the ruling of the regional court.

“We are preparing to implement the ruling according to which every case of study in institutions that are not recognized should be examined individually – that is, examine both the student and the educational institution in which he studies.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)