Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee Rabbi Moshe Gafni happily reported that the chareidi representation in the Knesset recently added NIS 48 million to the government budget for yeshivos. He announced this at the Hamodia Conference for Business which took place this past Sunday 19 Marcheshvan at the Avenue Conference Center at the airport.
Rabbi Gafni added that the Israeli economy is in a very strong position at this time, which strangely has no natural explanation. "Whereas many other stable economies have collapsed, European countries have gone bankrupt, major American banks have been unable to hold their own, here in Israel the economy is flourishing. And if that were not enough regarding the Gross National Product which is showing an impressive upward thrust, large deposits of natural gas have been discovered in the sea which are contributing much to the economic and geopolitical stability of Israel.
"I said this to top economic experts that this growth has no logical explanation. We are a country surrounded by enemies, investing huge sums in military security, and yet we see that unemployment has fallen while our credit rating has risen. Our standard of living should have fallen but it is constantly rising. The only explanation we can offer is the government support of yeshivos, in which merit the Israeli economy has succeeded so impressively and unexpectedly."
He also spoke about the housing shortage of the chareidi community, saying that it indicates an inadequacy on the part of the previous government which did not encourage sufficient construction so that by now there is a big dearth of available apartments. "Today, whoever has money, buys a luxury apartment in the Akirov Towers while those who lack funds cannot even buy an apartment in the periphery. The situation is about to undergo improvement. HaRav David Cohen, member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, called upon us to take the necessary measures to improve the situation. The Admor of Vishnitz, member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel, also urged us to work on this problem. We are planning to mobilize ourselves to seek immediate solutions to this pressing issue."
Prime Minister Netanyahu who concluded the conference said, "Torah study is the secret of the continuity of the Jewish world and is also the secret of our very perpetuity. The Torah world is alive and thriving here in Eretz Yisrael." He later emphasized the connection and cooperation with the representatives of the chareidi public in the government and in the Knesset.
