Just two days after the Central Bureau of Statistics
published a report forecasting a continued rise in the number
of students at chareidi schools in Eretz Yisroel (see "CBS
Predicts in Five Years Every Third Child Will Be Enrolled in
Chareidi Education System") the Justice and Education
Ministries are doing everything in their power to undermine
the chareidi education system in Israel, which teaches
hundreds of thousands of students al taharas
hakodesh.
A series of decrees and unreasonable requirements issued this
week by the Education and Justice Ministries proves once
again that legal figures at government ministries are
perturbed by the success of chareidi education and are making
every effort — shrouded in the mantle of legality
— to strike at chareidi schooling, sometimes with
obvious discrimination and sometimes bent on evil and other
dubious motivations.
Just weeks ago the Education Ministry's Deputy Accountant
General sent a letter to Chinuch Atzmai with a demand to
reduce the number of students at the Shuvu school in Nes
Tziona. The reason given: 178 students are currently enrolled
whereas the license calls for a maximum of 160 students.
There are no known reports of such a demand ever being
directed towards a government school. But when it comes to a
Chinuch Atzmai school, the Ministry warns, "In the event this
is not remedied, in the 5768 school year the funding for the
surplus students will be deducted and we will recommend
revoking the license."
Another irrational demand was recently conveyed by the
director of licensing requests for recognized-but-unofficial
institutions. She demanded a rental contract or certificate
of use for all of the structures used by institutions that
had applied for license renewals for the coming school
year.
A structural use certificate is essentially a document
attesting to the structural soundness of the entire building.
Landlords and tenants generally do not save these documents,
and in some cases the schools operate out of old rented
buildings built decades ago and searching for the structural
certificates can be nearly impossible. Whether such demands
have ever been issued to non-chareidi schools classified as
recognized but unofficial is also unlikely.
Furthermore legal advisors at the Justice and Education
Ministries recently issued a new decree coming directly from
Atty. Amnon De Hartoch, who serves as the Education
Ministry's head of support funding and is constantly meddling
in affairs outside his jurisdiction as part of his efforts to
harm chareidi education.
The directive was issued by Education Ministry Accountant-
General Motti Maruz to Chinuch Atzmai's general accountant
and calls for funding payments for 25 chareidi schools to be
completely frozen for not upholding the Core Curriculum
Program.
How a government official reached such a decision, which
contradicts a High Court ruling, remains unclear, since in
the event a chareidi institution opts not to meet the Core
requirements its funding is cut proportionately to its actual
curriculum, whereas in this case De Hartoch ordered a total
funding freeze.
Why Atty. De Hartoch is interfering in Chinuch Atzmai budget
affairs, which are governed by the Budget Law and not through
support funding, also remains unclear. Apparently he is
overstepping his bounds because of a drive to sabotage
chareidi education at any price.
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said on Monday after pointing out the
severity of the matter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir and
Ministry Director General Shmuel Abuav the two promised to
treat the situation very seriously, but have taken no
measures so far. "With the exception of a formal statement
that the chareidi education system is illegitimate, the
Justice and Education Ministries have said it all," says
Rabbi Gafni. "Of course the government education system
wouldn't check how many students are enrolled and whether the
number falls within the number stipulated in the license. Of
course nobody in the Education Ministry is asking for
construction certificates from secular institutions. The
entire government system is seeking to strike at the pure
chareidi education system and Amnon De Hartoch is the most
dominant figure among them. Beyond a doubt the Education
Ministry's attitude toward the chareidi education system
stems from the CBS report indicating that in another five
years one-third of Jewish students in Eretz Yisroel will be
chareidim."
According to a Justice Ministry spokesman, Atty. De Hartoch's
responsibilities are determined by his superiors. Regarding
the suspended funding for 25 educational institutions the
spokesman said the issue of 100 percent funding for the
Chinuch Atzmai Center corporation where the Core Curriculum
Program is not being followed 100 percent is currently under
review. Recently it was found that the Attorney General's
directives from four years ago have not been implemented. In
short it was determined that the level of funding would be
set according to the level of implementation of the Core
Program and that adjusting the funding would be carried out
gradually until the beginning of the 5768 school year.
The Justice Ministry also says Atty. De Hartoch was not
involved in the Education Ministry directives to schools
regarding construction certificates from institutions or the
matter of enrollment exceeding the limit listed in the
license.
The Education Ministry did not comment.
