Hundreds of talmud Torah (cheder) principals
from around the country joined chareidi MKs and public
figures for an emergency meeting at the Talmudei Torah Union
Center in light of the continued cuts in talmud Torah
budgets. An astounding figure was revealed during the
nationwide gathering: approximately 40 percent of Jerusalem
parents are unable to pay the tuition due to financial
strain.
The central presentation was a report by accountant Oved Ben-
David & Associates, which pointed to serious erosion of the
talmud Torah budgets on top of the across-the-board
cuts at all educational institutions.
The meeting was opened by Rav Yitzchok Goldknopf, the
director of the Union of Talmudei Torah, who warned that if
steps are not taken soon to restore these funds critical to
the survival of the talmudei Torah, principals would
have to seek alternative means, such as increasing the burden
of tuition on parents. He also said that lately talmudei
Torah have not been receiving equipment and funding for
renovation work from the local authorities unlike in previous
years when every student at least had a desk and chair. "We
are supposed to receive 55 percent of what a child receives
in government schools, but in practice we receive less than
this because of the unequal cuts.
"We did a survey in Jerusalem and found that 41 percent of
parents do not pay tuition. Only about 60 percent pay. This
is unprecedented. Until now 10 percent or 15 percent did not
pay. This situation in which primary education institutions
operate without tuition cannot continue. I turn to our
representatives and say, `Equality among school age children
must not fall off the agenda.'"
MK Rabbi Meir Porush said that in contrast to the malicious
reports it should be clear to all, that none of us has any
intention of introducing the Core Curriculum Program at
chareidi educational institutions. He said funding had been
promised during the coalition negotiations, including funding
for kindergartens, and now, at the end of July, this money
has yet to arrive. "The issue is cloaked in fog. Of course we
must protest and make renewed efforts to see to it that this
money eventually reaches the institutions as promised.
"What is happening in Jerusalem is that the city's legal
advisor issued a directive preventing talmudei Torah
from receiving equipment and furniture, which used to be done
through the Allocations Committee. Until now in order to
operate the institutions and the talmudei Torah, the
Department for Chareidi Education would provide equipment and
renovations for the talmudei Torah. Now along comes
this new directive, and it is a nefarious directive and I
don't know if we'll be able to restrain ourselves when one
day the talmudei Torah will be unable to obtain desks
and chairs.
"We cannot choose to rest and not take action, for in the
past when they began with directives like this there was a
committee the government set up and there was a directive and
recommendation that in all matters tied to educational
institutions there is no need for support committees. But to
be in the situation Jerusalem is in—where if I'm not
mistaken the chareidi sector has more [students] than the
government and government-religious [schools] combined, and
certainly in first through sixth grades—how can such a
directive exist? I am certain the Mayor and his deputies and
the councilmen will dedicate themselves to this issue and if
we can be of help of course we will stand by your side and
work with you."
HaRav Moshe Shlesinger, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Maaneh
Simchoh, said tinokos shel beis rabbon are the glory
of Tzion. "The generation of Tzion are the talmidim shel
beis rabbon and the moment the tinokos shel beis
rabbon are in Golus this is a Golus of the
Shechinoh. We are gathered together to raise a cry
against the difficult state the talmudei Torah are in
and to formulate strategies for how to extract the
talmudei Torah from a crisis that could literally
bring the institutions to the point of collapse.
"The talmudei Torah are exempt institutions set up in
the light of the guidance of maranan verabonon ztvk"l
ylct"a as exempt institutions and they always ensured we
received funding as exempt institutions. It is no secret that
if we wanted to change to "official but unrecognized" or any
other category, the funding would be considerable. We are
faithful to gedolei Yisroel by remaining exempt
institutions but because we cleave to the ideological
conception of exempt institutions must we be in a situation
in which we do not receive even the small amount we are
entitled to? Don't the exempt institutions deserve to receive
the funding they are entitled to?
"I turn to the MKs. Yeshar koach for the efforts you
invest. But we have the impression the matter of talmudei
Torah has been pushed off to the side. It has been
several years since the talmudei Torah are not at the
top of the priority list. If there are no tinokos shel
beis rabbon, if the tinokos shel beis rabbon are
not [educated] based on taharas hakodesh—`im
ein gedi'im ein tayoshim.' The talmudei Torah will
collapse and then it will be too late.
"If we do not succeed in securing the funding we will have no
choice other than to impose the burden on the parents. We
have no other choice. We will not close talmudei Torah
but the burden will fall on somebody and that will be the
parents. How will we be able to look the parents in the face
every day when we ask for twice the tuition, when parents are
already breaking down under the load placed on them? We have
no other way. Nevertheless we have an obligation to thank the
MKs for the efforts they have made—`ein mezarzim elo
lemezurozim'—to apply all of their power to the
matter of funding the talmudei Torah in order that we
not have to see talmudei Torah simply go bankrupt, and
this has already happened to two talmudei Torah."
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni began by saying that the talmudei
Torah cannot surrender to any government interference in
education. He went on to say that a situation has been
created in which officials offer their own personal opinions.
"According to these officials, exempt institutions deserve
nothing. The battle over Chinuch Atzmai and Maayan Hachinuch
HaTorani, which must be funded by law—over this battles
must be waged. Over exempt institutions the battle is
tougher. We are susceptible to harder blows we might suffer
in the future. The municipality and Mayor Rabbi Uri
Lupoliansky will go into this issue and I am certain the
Mayor will see to a change in this assessment. Jerusalem's
chareidi citizens pay taxes and this money cannot be allowed
to go to a minority in Jerusalem and not to chareidi
education."
Rabbi Gafni also spoke on the issue of the numerous
difficulties the MKs have faced in recent years, especially
the government decisions intended to prevent the yeshivas
from receiving a single shekel. "The talmudei Torah
took the same blow as the seminaries and the kindergartens.
Rabbi Yaakov Litzman and I held budget negotiations with
Sharon because we knew he wanted to throw Shinui out of the
government. The underlying principle in the negotiations was
that where the chareidi sector was affected more than other
sectors the funds would be restored. At the end of the
negotiations we signed an NIS 290-million-shekel agreement
with NIS 140 million going primarily to kollelim and
yeshivas and this money has already been transferred, and NIS
150 million going to a series of issues that had been struck
hard: NIS 40 million for talmudei Torah, NIS 40
million for kindergartens, NIS 40 million for dormitories
after the Welfare Ministry tried to expunge this during the
Orlev period. There was NIS 18 million for Chinuch Atzmai
bussing . . . We came to a total of NIS 180 million and it
was clear we would have to cut certain areas when we came to
the execution stage." Rabbi Gafni concluded by saying the MKs
would carry out any decision reached, in order to help
extract the talmudei Torah from the budget travails
they are suffering.
Deputy Minister MK Rabbi Shmuel Halpert said, "The rate of
natural increase in the chareidi sector is a source of envy
[in the secular camp] and they are afraid of this . . . It
was not incidental that they cut the yeshivas, the
talmudei Torah, the Children's Allowances and the
kollelim. This was a directed campaign planned against
the chareidi public . . . and today they say this openly in
the Knesset. They are unaware that through this they are
endangering Eretz Yisroel. We are now in the days of Bein
Hametzorim and as the novi Yirmiyohu says, "Al moh
ovdoh ho'oretz . . . Vayomer Hashem al ozvom es Torosi . .
. " (9:11-12). The cut in the yeshiva and talmud
Torah budgets endangers our existence here in Eretz
Yisroel and unfortunately they don't want to understand
this."
Rav Yaakov Berger, speaking in the name of the talmudei
Torah principals, announced that if the NIS 40-million
budget the government agreed upon is not transferred within
the next few days they would have no choice other than to
raise tuition for next year. He asked the MKs on hand to
reach agreements on the matter of the talmudei Torah
funding as soon as possible in light of the differences of
opinions regarding the level of funding.
Other speakers included Rabbi Eliezer Simchayoun, deputy
Jerusalem mayor in charge of finance, Rabbi Yehoshua Pollak,
deputy mayor of Jerusalem and treasurer of Beitar Illit, and
Rabbi Uri Maklev, deputy Jerusalem mayor in charge of
chareidi education.
