Degel HaTorah MKs Deputy Welfare Minister Rabbi Avrohom
Ravitz and Party Chairman Rabbi Moshe Gafni met with Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday for an extended working
meeting during which Sharon instructed his staff to
immediately tend to a long series of issues raised by the two
Degel HaTorah representatives.
At the meeting Rabbi Ravitz and Rabbi Gafni demanded that the
Prime Minister implement without further delay several parts
of the coalition agreement that have yet to be carried out,
including the setup of a team to preserve the independence
and unique status of the chareidi education system and not to
make any changes until the team has completed its work. They
also demanded that the Prime Minister cancel the Education
Ministry's order not to open new schools due to the Dovrat
Committee and the order by the Ministry's Director-General to
alter the status of chareidi girls' seminaries.
They also demanded the setup of an organizational framework
or authority for Torah institutions, the preservation of the
status quo on religious issues and an amendment to the
Conversion Law to ensure "jaunt conversions" are not
recognized in Israel. They also demanded Sharon instruct the
government ministers not to harm various issues such as
Shabbos, graves and more during the Disengagement and in
general that ministers must consult with their coalition
partners on these issues before reaching decisions or issuing
instructions in order to guarantee that their decisions are
in accordance with the coalition agreement.
They also demanded a reorganization of religious services and
that the plan drafted be passed on to the authorized
rabbinical bodies to receive their assessment. The Degel
HaTorah members also mentioned the fact that the heads of the
religious councils appointed by the Prime Minister in
Jerusalem, Rosh Ha'ayin, Yavniel and other places have been
scheming against rabbonim and kashrus services in a manner
that threatens the future of religious services and kashrus
in these places.
Rabbi Ravitz and Rabbi Gafni also raised a series of other
issues including a demand for the entire sum of money agreed
on between the sides to be placed in the basic budget without
further discussion, not even a first reading.
They also demanded an immediate solution to the problem of
funding for transportation to Chinuch Atzmai schools, which
have been discriminated against, especially since doubts that
surround the opening of the school year are leading some
local authorities not to transfer their share of support for
Chinuch Atzmai. They also demanded the immediate signing of a
recovery program for Agudas Yisroel kindergartens and that
the Justice Ministry hasten the completion of setting
criteria for budgeting Jewish culture before these
organizations collapse.
The party representatives demanded an addition of NIS 60
million to the yeshiva ketanoh budget (up to age 16)
in light of the cuts at these yeshivas from NIS 340 per
student in 2002 to NIS 90 per student in 2005, and the
addition of the budget funds from the agreement that was not
signed with the NRP. The party members also demanded an
additional NIS 10 million for the preparation of external
exams at chareidi high schools since, unlike government
schools where teachers receive a pay bonus for exam
preparation, this bonus was discontinued at chareidi schools.
They also demanded an inquiry and a restoration of the
special government mortgage loans and local loans in eligible
towns, including chareidi towns.
During the course of the meeting Sharon ordered his staff to
attend to the two MKs' demands. "The chareidi public cannot
be harmed in such a manner," he told them. "I don't
understand why the chareidi public is discriminated against
and why things that have been agreed upon in the past have
yet to be carried out."
Regarding Degel HaTorah's demand to have the hot-lunch
program apply to chareidi students as well in the locations
selected the Prime Minister said he would bring the issue for
government approval right away.
However Sharon did not honor the demand to stop the cut in
the Children's Allowance of Bituach Leumi. The pair of MKs
claimed that the cuts to Children's Allowances and Birth
Grants thus far have brought numerous families and children
below the poverty line and continued cuts should cease since
the Finance Ministry has not met its commitments to
compensate these families through other means and to restore
a portion of the Birth Grants.
During the meeting the MKs asked for an increase in Welfare
Ministry funding earmarked for assisting families and youths
across the country in need of special educational and social
assistance due to financial strain, particularly a
substantial increase in funding for alienated youth. The
Prime Minister said he would confer on this matter separately
with the Deputy Welfare Minister as part of an upcoming
meeting between the two to discuss the Welfare Ministry
budget.
Degel HaTorah spokesmen were pleased with the meeting but
said the good intentions would be proven only through
concrete actions, which so far have been slow in coming. Also
present at the meeting were Government Secretary Yisrael
Maimon, Prime Minister's Office Director Ilan Cohen and Degel
HaTorah Manager Rabbi Moshe Shiffman.
