Prime Minister Ariel Sharon drew irate reactions after saying
in an interview he preferred an anti-religious coalition led
by Shinui--fully recognizing the economic plan would harm
chareidim more than other sectors--over a coalition including
chareidi parties.
Sharon's remarks were apparently aimed to increase the
pressure on chareidi parties to join the coalition together
with Shinui now, in exchange for a reversal on budget cuts
directed at the Torah world and the chareidi public.
"Ariel Sharon's comment would not have passed quietly in any
democratic country," said MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni (UTJ). "What
happened was that the head of the political establishment is
announcing he intends to harm a specific sector of the public
without any objective justification. Besides the severe
effect the economic decrees will have on the public, and
particularly the middle and lower classes, the chareidi
sector will suffer an additional blow that will be difficult
and painful, and we must do everything we can to prevent
Ariel Sharon from carrying out his plot."
MK Rabbi Yisroel Eichler told Yated Ne'eman that it
now appears the cuts against the chareidim were not based on
economic reasons but simply hatred. As an example he cited
the cancellation of the maternity grant (ma'anak
leidah) of NIS 1,600 ($350) per family, which brings
negligible savings for the general budget but represents a
considerable blow for birthing families. He described the
proposal as "evil for evil's sake." He also cited the
proposal to slash the yeshiva budget, saying the decreases of
up to 90 percent were completely disproportionate.
Commenting on a proposal to cut funding for yeshiva students
from abroad, Rabbi Eichler said, "This is an evil and cruel
cut considering the fact that the State spends large amounts
to encourage university students to come to Israel and grants
(immigrant) absorption packages (sal klita) to goyim
who come to assimilate here, and meanwhile blocks funding for
bochurei yeshivos who come to Israel to learn here and
to live here. The Finance Ministry is plotting to take steps
against avreichim in order to force them to leave
their learning and go out to work, with the goal of
decreasing the number of lomdei Torah in Israel."
He also said that clearly the aim of the cuts is ideological
and not economic. In effect an "economic civil war" is being
waged against the chareidim regardless of economic necessity
and "therefore we must pray `leha'avir memsheles zodon min
ho'oretz.'"
On the other hand a top ranking figure at the Prime
Minister's Office accused Finance Ministry officials last
week of misleading government ministers by presenting them
with a censored version of the economic plan at a government
meeting several weeks ago that did not fully inform them of
the extent of cuts to be imposed upon the chareidi sector and
the Torah world.
He told Yated Ne'eman only now that the most severe
figures on the deep yeshiva budget cuts have been presented
to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister has it become
apparent that Finance officials intentionally veiled the
extent of the cuts from government ministers, creating the
impression that only a few minor cuts were being made to the
yeshiva budget. "There is a group of officials who are trying
to seize control over the entire system and to set the
government's course of action for the Prime Minister and the
Finance Minister. In effect they have managed to take over
the system through illegitimate means and present the
ministers with inaccurate presentations in order to garner
the ministers' support for the plan," says the figure from
the Prime Minister's Office.
He added that Prime Minister's Office Director-General
Avigdor Yitzchaki has come to realize clearly how problematic
it is to cut the yeshiva budgets and has been making
concerted efforts to alter several of the paragraphs that
strike hardest against the Torah world. He also said the
Prime Minister is slated to hold a meeting on the subject.
In recent weeks rabbonim and public officials have met with
the Prime Minister's staff members and with Finance Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu to present them a full picture of the deep
gashes the proposed economic decrees would inflict upon the
chareidi sector.
