Speaking during the debate about three no-confidence measures, MK
Rabbi Gafni spoke about what he called the ruling coalition's two-
faced attitude towards the chareidi community and its representatives
in the Knesset.
He noted that MK Rabbi Eichler had proposed that UTJ not support the
government in the no-confidence votes because the minister's
legislative committee had decided not to support a law that he had
introduced to recognize a yeshiva education as the equivalent of a
university-level degree with regard to determining salary and
eligibility to fill certain positions which do not require a specific
degree.
Rabbi Gafni said that Rabbi Eichler had accused the government of
hypocrisy since they say that the chareidi community should go out to
work to relieve their poverty, and now that they are proposing a law
that would help chareidim who want to work, they do not support it.
Someone who wants to be an engineer and has a degree in anthropology
or ancient Chinese culture will be accepted for the job and get a
salary that recognizes his degree even though it is not relevant to
the job, but someone who studied in a yeshiva and afterwards took a
professional course in engineering and has work experience will not
get a higher salary since his yeshiva learning is not recognized as
advanced study. Why this discrimination?
Rabbi Gafni also spoke about a law that he had proposed to require all
schools to meet the strict safety conditions that are imposed on
chareidi schools or else face the loss of their operating license. The
government opposed his law saying that it would be very expensive
among other arguments.
"I told Rabbi Eichler," summarized Rabbi Gafni, "that I have been in
the Knesset longer than he. And I say that the Likud are hypocrites.
There is no other word. Today we must vote with the government because
we are obligated as members of the coalition. But we have to consider
what will come of this eventually."