This interview was given three months ago when
dismantling the Religious Affairs Ministry was first
proposed. Since the proposal is still in the air, the
interview is still quite important.
How do the chareidi Knesset members relate to the
dismantling of the Religious Affairs Ministry? Rabbi Avrohom
Ravitz says that there is no kedusha in the Religious
Affairs Ministry that must be preserved. However, there is
no doubt that dismantling the Ministry is problematic and
eminently dangerous for a number of reasons.
Rabbi Ravitz, why shouldn't the Religious Affairs
Ministry be dismantled?
"I didn't say that it shouldn't be dismantled, and I didn't
say it should. The issue is quite complex and should be
approached seriously, soberly and cautiously. The problem of
transfer of the Ministry's various functions to other
offices or local authorities is very difficult from a
practical point of view. It could jeopardize all of the
services the Religious Affairs Ministry provides."
Why and how?
"Suppose Prime Minister Barak gives Tommy Lapid the Interior
Ministry portfolio due to coalition pressures, and that this
Ministry is also placed in charge of the religious councils.
Lapid would then be the one to decide how to go about
strengthening Torah classes and religious councils; where to
build more mikvo'os and which to renovate. Let us
suppose that he runs into financial problems and the Finance
Ministry tells him to deduct 2 percent from his Ministry's
expenditures. Where do you think he would decide to cut?
Which monies do you think he would eliminate first? It is
obvious that the first thing he would do is to throw the
tallis and tefillin into the sea and do away
with all of the subsidies he received from the Religious
Affairs Ministry."
Yeshiva subsidies are supposed to be transferred to the
Education Ministry which already handles many funds related
to the Torah education system.
"The yeshiva budget is the largest in the Religious Affairs
Ministry: about a billion shekels. If someone who is not
exactly a lover of Torah happens to head the Education
Ministry and is told to cut a billion shekels from his
budget, there is no doubt that the first thing he will do is
to get rid of the yeshiva subsidies. Where to deduct, and
which clause to cut, is the minister's privilege, and if
someone like Yossi Sarid with aspirations to institute
humanistic education is running the show, I have no doubt
that his ideology will induce him to cut yeshiva funding. He
surely wouldn't cut the humanistic education funds. The
easiest thing for him to do will be to cut funding of the
yeshiva students, and his constituents will applaud and
thank him. He will benefit as well as receive a high
political rating from his followers."
When Shimon Shetreet, who is secular, was Religious
Affairs Minister, the Torah observant sector also suffered
to a great degree. What's the difference this time?
"Shetreet really caused us a lot of trouble. But that should
teach us how dangerous it is to dismantle the Religious
Affairs Ministry. Shetreet had to use his Ministry's money
for religious issues because he was a minister in the
Religious Affairs Ministry. He couldn't take money and
transfer it to ecological issues, for instance. However,
within a particular ministry, it is no problem for a
minister to transfer money from one area to another. He
doesn't always require the approval of the Knesset Finance
Committee, and even if he did, who says that we always have
the necessary power to prevent things that impair the
functioning of religious services. Therefore, there is no
doubt that we can't rely upon the minister. He is permitted
to do almost whatever he wants with his ministry's money:
transfer it, save it, cancel it, save it or even return it
to the Treasury: in short, nearly everything. That's why it
will be dangerous."
That means that we should adamantly oppose the
dismantling of the Religious Affairs Ministry?
"As long as there are still no firm nor even fundamental
laws anchoring the religious needs of the State as well as
those of the Torah-observant and traditional sectors, the
problem of dismantling the Religious Ministry is far from
simple."
The government says that no area will be harmed as a
result of the procedure.
"True, they say that, and it's very nice that they don't
want to impair anything. But who can guarantee what might
happen in the future?"
Apparently there are order and procedural problems in
this office.
"I am all for order. I must say that I am in favor of the
reorganization of the Religious Affairs Ministry. It should
be made more efficient. The recent minister, Yitzhak Cohen,
tried to make order, but people from within disrupted his
efforts. But the Prime Minister doesn't say that they want
to make order. He admits that the transfer is part of the
secular revolution, and that indicates that his intentions
are ideological, not administrative. That, of course, is
frightening. Who knows what the outcome will be?"
What are you planning to do about it?
"We will remain on alert and will see how they carry this
out. We will make certain that neither the Torah world nor
any other religious services are harmed. In the future, a
chareidi deputy minister who will be responsible for the
funding of the yeshivos and religious education will have to
serve in the Education Ministry. This is necessary, since
all of the subsidies for the chareidi sector - - including
subsidies for the yeshivos -- will be handled by that
office."
If services are nonetheless impaired, what will you
do?
"If necessary, we will demand that one of the clauses of the
agreement state that in the event that such problems arise,
the Religious Affairs Ministry will be reestablished. That's
not so hard. The Science, Culture and Sports Ministry was
founded for Matan Vilnai in a second in this government, as
was the Infrastructure Ministry for Arik Sharon in the
Netanyahu government. It's no problem to move branches and
subsidies from one place to another."
