The Ministry of Religious Affairs recently signed a contract
with the national lottery system, Mifal Hapayis, to build 25
mikvaos in the year 1999 at a cost of 22 million NIS.
Officials of the Ministry say that until now, the religious
community did not benefit directly from Mifal Hapayis
revenue. The system annually allocates much of its profits to
social and cultural activities in various frameworks.
The Ministry held deliberations with the chairman of the
Mifal Hapayis board of directors, Avraham Katz-Oz, and its
general director, Yaakov Bardugo. They expressed their
willingness to cooperate with the Ministry and to allocate
sums for the construction of the needed mikvaos.
Mifal Hapayis promised that starting next year it will
allocate special funds for the building of mikvaos and
synagogues. This does not mean that one should necessarily
run out and buy lottery tickets.
