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NEWS
Torah Institutions Now Receiving Funding on Schedule
By Betzalel Kahn
Following the approval of the state budget for 2005 and the
implementation of the coalition agreement, according to which
the budgets for all Torah institutions—including added
funds agreed upon in the budget agreement signed
previously—will be included in the basic budget, Torah
institutions have begun to receive their monthly allocations
on a regular, orderly basis. When the state budget was passed
several weeks ago, institutions that had not been receiving
advancements due to various audits during the past two years
were paid retroactively as of January 2005.
The Education Ministry Support Committee has been holding
regular meetings to address matters affecting hundreds of
institutions whose funding had been withheld for an extended
period. At each of these meetings the Support Committee has
been approving payment for other institutions after
administrative matters were settled. To achieve these
improvements MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni had to wage a prolonged
battle with the Finance Ministry, which refused to appoint a
special accountant to the Education Ministry's department for
Torah institutions.
Eventually Finance Ministry Accountant Dr. Yaron Zilcha
agreed to Rabbi Gafni's demand, appointing R' Shimon
Hechster, a dedicated senior employee from the Ministry's
General Accounting Department who is familiar with the issue
of Torah institutions. As soon as he assumed the task—
together with department manager Mr. Amos Tzayida and the
legal advisors—he worked swiftly to avoid technical
delays in transferring the funds.
MK Rabbi Gafni, who remains in constant contact with the
Finance Ministry and the department for Torah institutions,
helping them overcome various problems that arise
periodically, says United Torah Jewry insisted on adding the
funding for Torah institutions, including the increases in
funding, to the main budget for several reasons: a) to allow
institutions to receive the full monthly payment immediately,
b) to avoid having to obtain the approval of the Knesset
Finance Committee for special transfers to institutions,
which has led to incitement by anti-religious opponents, and
c) to avoid giving contributors the impression that Torah
institutions are constantly receiving additional funding,
which is very far from the truth; even now the primary
support for Torah institutions comes from the Torah world's
generous supporters and not from the Israeli government.
Degel HaTorah is now working to have funding
remainders— including the TEAM funds—included in
the 2004 budget as agreed upon, in order to make the current
budget totally available for regular payments and to increase
the monthly sum given to yeshivas and kollelim.
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