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NEWS
Government Decides to Force Local Authorities to Transfer
Funding to Religious Authorities
by Betzalel Kahn
The government decided on Sunday to determine the amount of
funding 40 local authorities will have to provide the
respective religious authorities in their jurisdiction, after
Interior Minister Ofir Pines refused to cooperate with the
Prime Minister's Office on the matter.
Forty religious authorities in Israel have not yet received
funding — a total of NIS 46 million—from their
local authority for the 2005 budget year. The State provided
40 percent of funding directly but these local authorities
refused to pass on the remaining 60 percent.
The law states that in the event of a dispute between the
religious authority and the local authority, the Prime
Minister and the Interior Minister appoint representatives to
decide the matter. Following Sunday's Cabinet meeting, a
decision was reached to require the local authorities to pay
60 percent of the funding and the State to pay the dividend.
"The local authorities' failure to transfer funds causes a
heavy blow to the religious services provided to citizens and
[leaves] many religious councils unable to pay their workers
and pensioners for months, which has dire human consequences
as well."
The government decision, which passed seven to one, follows a
Knesset Finance Committee decision not to transfer funds to
local authorities that do not pay the religious councils
their due.
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