Education Minister L. Livnat announced that she feels that
her primary obligation is to children in official government
kindergartens while children in recognized but unofficial
(i.e. chareidi) kindergartens are of secondary importance.
In response to a question posed by MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz as
to why private kindergartens, the majority of which are
chareidi, will have 15 percent of their budgets for the 5764
school year cut--much more than the budget cut in government
kindergartens--Minister Livnat claimed a total of over NIS 3
billion ($600 million) has been cut and they already know of
another NIS 650,000 ($130,000) cut for the coming year.
Therefore, she said, her primary obligation is to children in
official schools, while children in recognized but unofficial
institutions, which includes chareidi kindergartners, are of
lesser importance.
She said the decision to make the 15 percent cut was not by
choice "and not out of a desire and goal of harming chareidi
education." She also expressed hope that the future would be
brighter, making it possible to eventually restore the
funding.
MK Rabbi Ravitz appeared shocked to hear the highly
discriminatory remarks. "From a legal standpoint, this
distinction cannot be made. But I am asking from a
humanitarian standpoint: why is it permissible for such a
thing to be done? It's clear the children will suffer, and
the kindergarten teachers, too."
Rabbi Ravitz expressed the hope that sensible thinking would
prevail and eventually chareidi yaldei Yisroel would
receive the same treatment as other yaldei Yisroel,
including appropriate legislation.
In response to these remarks Minister Livnat said she feels
uncomfortable with the decision since she has no desire to
harm children in this sector or any other.
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni also lodged sharp criticism of Livnat's
remarks saying "the Education Minister's remarks are very
serious both because they are unprecedented -- for since the
founding of the State never has an education minister said
such things -- and because of their contents. This is severe
discrimination among children that even a minister from
Shinui would not have dared to utter. In Livnat's view what
is a child studying in kindergarten guilty of? Of being a
chareidi child? How are the words `rights' and `obligations'
relevant to a five-year-old?"
