Members of the Degel HaTorah Executive Board and rabbonim from the Vaad Ruchanis convened at Degel HaTorah Headquarters in Bnei Brak to discuss issues currently on the agenda.

At the beginning of the meeting strong opposition was voiced against introducing civil marriage for non-Jews. Justice Minister Daniel Friedman has declared that an agreement he recently reached with the Chief Rabbinate to allow civil marriage for non-Jews is really the start of a move towards making civil marriage available to Jews as well. Degel board members denounced the dangerous proposal, which was approved without consulting with gedolei Yisroel shlita. Just a few days earlier a cooperative agreement was reached between UTJ and Shas, yet on such a central, sensitive and fateful issue unilateral actions were taken against the will of maranan verabonon and yirei Shomayim in Eretz Yisroel and abroad.

Later MKs Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and Rabbi Moshe Gafni related the developments that preceded the successful passage of the law to renew for another five years the legislation allowing military deferrals for yeshiva students. The law (known as the Tal Law) was passed last week in a sweeping 56-9 vote.

The two MKs noted that unlike in the past no efforts were made to instigate against lomdei Torah — neither in the Knesset nor in the media — and called for a careful review of how vital campaigns can be waged without having to contend with secular anti-chareidi incitement.

The focus of the meeting was a long, spirited discussion regarding the grave decrees against chareidi education and Torah institutions which led two weeks ago to a violent incident against a chareidi MK. Rabbi Ravitz and Rabbi Gafni noted that a few years ago an attempt was made to alter the way of life and education of the sons and daughters of the chareidi public, but now that certain government officials have arrived at the conclusion the chareidi public will not budge even a hair’s breadth from the instructions of gedolei Yisroel, they are trying to undermine chareidi education by depriving chareidi institutions of due funding.

During the meeting surveys were presented of the decrees threatening chareidi institutions, including the yeshivos ketanos, which face the threat of total closure if a legislative solution is not found or the High Court ruling prohibiting funding to them is not postponed; transportation funding for Chinuch Atzmai schools, which has yet to be transferred despite the government decision of several months ago; the new directive to reduce the number of students at schools based on licensing terms — clearly an attempt to diminish the number of students enrolled in the chareidi schools system and which is unheard of in the government school system; a Justice Ministry directive straight from Atty. De Hartoch to immediately stop all funding at 25 Chinuch Atzmai schools (although not paying teachers’ salaries is legally prohibited without giving advance notice); and demands to submit planning and construction certificates, engineering certificates, forms and instructions for kindergartens and educational institutions. All of these schemes are plainly intended to deprive chareidi and Torah institutions of funding in any way possible based on distorted interpretations of old laws, regulation proposals and guidelines that have become obsolete.

Various actions were agreed upon in order to contend with these decrees through legal means, legislation and public campaigns after receiving direction and guidance from gedolei Yisroel shlita.

(Written by A. Cohen for Dei’ah veDibur)