MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni proposed reaching an agreement over the
sum for the religious and chareidi educational systems along
with other religious and chareidi issues and to make a multi-
year arrangement to avoid the necessity for additional
demands annually during the course of the budget year.
MK Rabbi Gafni issued these remarks during a Knesset
Education Committee meeting to discuss the budget for
religious education.
Rabbi Gafni noted that when he met with Minister Hirchson to
discuss the issue, the Finance Minister told him such an
agreement could be made on condition that the sum is taken
from the base budget.
During the meeting MK Rabbi Shmuel Halpert said that funding
for the yeshivas is in the framework of support funding
rather than the basic budget, which causes the problem to
reemerge every year. He claimed that the Finance Ministry
does this deliberately to keep religious MKs in line. "If
you're good little children you'll receive a few crumbs," he
said.
