Scores of roshei kollel met in Jerusalem during the
week after Pesach to discuss problems facing the
kollelim and the difficulties they encounter in
dealing with the Government.
The red-tape that kollelim have recently been forced
to undergo in Government offices was discussed among other
more general issues. Difficulties were encountered by a group
of kollelim whose names were deleted from a Government
computer and, as a result, the kollel received no
subsidies for two months. In addition, a number of
kollelim were recently unable to receive "proper
management certification" due to the tightening of
regulations for the management of nonprofit organizations. As
a result, their steady subsidies were also considerably
delayed. The necessary certification was denied for trivial
reasons.
It was also claimed that each time the support of an
institution is halted for any reason, it is done without any
advance notice on the part of the Government office. The
rosh kollel discovers that the subsidy has been
stopped only when it does not appear in his bank account on
the due date.
The roshei kollel raised an additional problem. Many
nonprofit organizations were obligated to undergo a routine
audit by an independent accountant which took a long time.
However, while a nonprofit organization is undergoing such an
audit it cannot receive "proper management certification." As
a result, its governmental support is totally withheld. The
roshei kollel complained about this, noting that it
makes no sense to stop support of an institution because it
hasn't received proper management certification because it is
undergoing a routine audit with no suspicion of any
wrongdoing.
The roshei kollel discussed the tremendous hardships
they suffer because of these problems, which are further
exacerbated due to the fact that a kollel which does
not receive funds from a government office for a long period
can not shoulder the tremendous burden of granting stipends
to avreichim. In order to cover its overall expenses,
the rosh kollel must solicit contributions. The moment
a Government office delays support, the roshei kollel
are forced to go into debt in order to pay the
avreichim on time.
The roshei kollel also complained that even after
their institutions manage to meet the various demands of the
Government offices and to provide them with the necessary
documentation, it takes considerable time until the
Government resumes support for the avreichim. As a
result, the kollel does not receive funds for the
months during which the support was stopped.
They also noted the Government offices' failure to grant pre-
holiday stipends. While official offices are aware of the
importance of granting such subsidies in advance to other
groups and institutions, avreichim are deprived of
this benefit. Because the kollelim are so far behind
in their monthly payments due to bureaucratic difficulties,
when erev yom tov nears the avreichim do not
receive the extra stipends to which they are entitled.
The roshei kollel stressed the need for setting up a
special committee to handle the affairs of institutions and
kollelim that have encountered problems with
Government offices. The committee will serve as a spokesman
for Torah institutions and will expedite the handling of the
overall affairs of the roshei kollel in Government
offices.
At the end of the meeting, four roshei kollel were
chosen to serve on the Roshei Kollel Committee. They hope
that the Committee will be of benefit to all kollelim
and will minimize their bureaucratic problems. It is hoped,
too, that both sides -- Government offices and
kollelim -- will benefit from an efficient solution of
these problems.
The temporary telephone of the Committee is 02-5380931.
Letters may be sent to Vaad Roshei Hakollelim, POB 5446,
Jerusalem. The services are free of charge.
