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1 Kislev 5764 - November 26, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Environmental Ministry Funds Pig Projects
by Betzalel Kahn

The Environmental Ministry, headed by Yehudit Naot of Shinui, allocated hundreds of thousands of shekels in budget funding to local and regional authorities to provide generous financial aid to authorities that construct large pigsties within their bounds despite the law against raising pigs in Israel.

MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz obtained a copy of an internal Environmental Ministry document signed by Assistant Director- General Dr. Yossi Inbar and addressed to the local authorities and agricultural organizations. According to the document the Ministry has decided to allocate support funds from the Ministry budget to agriculture organizations that carry out the project the Environmental Ministry views as a critical endeavor.

The document discusses granting financial support in a range of areas related to the environment such as agricultural waste treatment, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, etc. Yet one seemingly innocent paragraph hidden inside the document suddenly speaks of "planning central sites for raising pigs."

Inbar's letter further explains that this enterprise is one of the Ministry's policies and goals and part of the Ministry's work plans for the next two years. The Ministry is prepared to grant sums of up to NIS 100,000 to agricultural organizations or local authorities that invest in this type of project.

On Monday Rabbi Ravitz lodged harsh grievances against Minister Naot, saying she was making use of Ministry funds to implement the goals of the party she serves. "It is inconceivable that budget funds intended for [protecting] the environment for the country's citizens are being cynically directed toward the opposite goals in violation of the law," said Rabbi Ravitz, who submitted an urgent question to the Knesset.

 

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