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18 Tammuz 5764 - July 7, 2004 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Education Minister Says Chareidi Kindergartners of Lesser Importance
by Eliezer Rauchberger

Education Minister L. Livnat announced that she feels that her primary obligation is to children in official government kindergartens while children in recognized but unofficial (i.e. chareidi) kindergartens are of secondary importance.

In response to a question posed by MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz as to why private kindergartens, the majority of which are chareidi, will have 15 percent of their budgets for the 5764 school year cut--much more than the budget cut in government kindergartens--Minister Livnat claimed a total of over NIS 3 billion ($600 million) has been cut and they already know of another NIS 650,000 ($130,000) cut for the coming year. Therefore, she said, her primary obligation is to children in official schools, while children in recognized but unofficial institutions, which includes chareidi kindergartners, are of lesser importance.

She said the decision to make the 15 percent cut was not by choice "and not out of a desire and goal of harming chareidi education." She also expressed hope that the future would be brighter, making it possible to eventually restore the funding.

MK Rabbi Ravitz appeared shocked to hear the highly discriminatory remarks. "From a legal standpoint, this distinction cannot be made. But I am asking from a humanitarian standpoint: why is it permissible for such a thing to be done? It's clear the children will suffer, and the kindergarten teachers, too."

Rabbi Ravitz expressed the hope that sensible thinking would prevail and eventually chareidi yaldei Yisroel would receive the same treatment as other yaldei Yisroel, including appropriate legislation.

In response to these remarks Minister Livnat said she feels uncomfortable with the decision since she has no desire to harm children in this sector or any other.

MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni also lodged sharp criticism of Livnat's remarks saying "the Education Minister's remarks are very serious both because they are unprecedented -- for since the founding of the State never has an education minister said such things -- and because of their contents. This is severe discrimination among children that even a minister from Shinui would not have dared to utter. In Livnat's view what is a child studying in kindergarten guilty of? Of being a chareidi child? How are the words `rights' and `obligations' relevant to a five-year-old?"

 

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