With a majority vote of 56 MKs from the coalition against 21
MKs from the opposition and three abstentions, on Monday a
Knesset plenum rejected a joint no-confidence motion filed by
UTJ and HaIchud HaLeumi-NRP due to "the danger of destroying
the Torah institutions and yeshivas in light of the
unprecedented cuts in their respective budgets."
UTJ representatives vocally protested the fact that Shas
voted with the government and against the no-confidence
motion. MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman called out, "Minister Yishai
fled abroad when budget talks were held instead of staying
here to battle for the yeshiva budget, whereas the members of
his party express faith in a government that cuts funding for
the yeshivas."
MK Menachem Ben Sasson (Kadima) spoke of the prosperity of
the yeshivas and during his speech MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni
called out loudly and repeatedly. "This is a shame and a
disgrace," he shouted. "This is not a Jewish state if there
is almost no budget for yeshivas." After three calls to order
Meeting Chairwoman MK Dalia Itzik had him ejected from the
hall.
MK Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, who presented the no-confidence motion
sponsored by UTJ, said the 2008 budget "is a declaration of
war on the religious public, Torah-based institutions and the
Torah world. All of the parameters for the budget indicate
that anything with a trace of religion and vital needs for
the religious and the Torah world, simply had its funding
eliminated."
Later he said that the fact that the budget adds funding to
many other clauses, especially education, proves there is no
lack of funds in the state coffers but "simply a closing off
of resources and a failure to recognize the educational needs
of Israel's religious citizens as a whole, needs that have
been recognized by every government since the state's
founding. `Has there every been such an atrocious
government?' I ask myself, and wonder what we've come to."
He also claimed that the current government, in terms of
funding, is worse than the notorious Likud-Shinui government,
which did not close off all the taps, adding that during that
period the country was in a state of economic crisis with
cuts across the board whereas today there is growth and
abundance.
He also discussed Shas' membership in the government and the
coalition, saying, "I don't understand why the Finance
Ministry and the Government of Israel are taking advantage of
Shas' refinement. After all Shas is a senior and loyal
coalition partner. How is it that they strike and insult it
in a manner unacceptable among friends and partners?"
Rabbi Cohen said that some people claim the cuts are all just
a game of bringing "goats" into the budget to create stress,
and then on the day the budget receives final approval, "If
we're good little children, they'll put it all back in. And
of course then the whole media will holler that we're simply
blackmailers, when they're simply replacing what we
rightfully deserve to receive."
He also spoke against the harm done to yeshiva ketanoh
students who have been taken out of the general education
system and transferred to the category of exempt
institutions, a move unprecedented since the founding of the
state and which may well be illegal since the yeshivas were
not notified long enough in advance to allow them to prepare
for the new situation.
He ended by turning to Shas MKs and asking them why they
continue to sit in such a government that threatens the
existence of the Torah world. "I call on the government to
amend the budget book and present a rational budget that
respects and recognizes the needs of the entire population of
Israel on every matter," he said.
