Despite an order by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to
the Education Ministry requiring the Guaranteed Income
Committee to pay Guaranteed Income stipends to
avreichim whose wives are on sabbatical leave,
recently Attorney Amnon de Hartog, head of the Support
Department at the Justice Ministry, issued instructions not
to pay the stipends. This represents an unprecedented move by
a government ministry official: instructing another
government ministry not to carry out directives issued by the
State Comptroller and the Public Complaints Commissioner.
For years de Hartog has sought every possible means of
preventing public funds from reaching the chareidi sector and
this time he went one step further by defying even the State
Comptroller's instructions.
Over a year ago the Education Ministry's Guaranteed Income
Committee decided to change its policy and, as of October
2004, stopped providing Guaranteed Income allotments to
avreichim married to teachers on unpaid sabbatical.
Following action taken by Degel HaTorah's Bureau for Public
Inquiries in Bnei Brak, the State Comptroller and the Public
Complaints Commissioner determined that the Committee does
not have the authority to cancel an administrative decision
after the current school year has already begun.
In a letter to Attorney General Mani Mazuz, MK Rabbi Moshe
Gafni noted that despite the State Comptroller's directive,
"Attorney Amnon de Hartog issued orders not to pay the
stipend to these families, claiming he is looking into the
matter, but these teachers are already in their unpaid year
and although two months have already passed since the State
Comptroller and the Public Complaints Commissioner issued
their directive." Rabbi Gafni is demanding the Attorney
General investigate the matter and issue instructions to
restore the teachers' rights.
