JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At a meeting of the Knesset’s socioeconomic committee Tuesday, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said that he intends to halve the number of hours that chareidi men must spend in study in order to qualify for state stipends, freeing up their time to join the workforce.
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Liberman said that the idea was to provide “positive incentives” to encourage more chareidi men and Arab women to find jobs. The current requirement for receiving a government stipend for those learning in kollel is to study at least 40 hours a week. Liberman intends to provide the same stipend for 20 hours a week, thus freeing up hours for those who wish to work while studying part time.
Liberman did not describe how he intends to increase the representation of Arab women in the workforce.
“We intend to enlarge the pie, to reduce the gaps in Israeli society, and to strengthen the middle class,” said Liberman, a champion of secular rights. However Liberman’s carrots are also mixed with sticks. On Monday he unveiled a new plan which would end daycare subsidies for children of full-time kollel students as well as nixing property tax discounts which they currently receive.
Liberman also intends to offer financial benefits to Haredi schools that teach core curriculum subjects such as math, science, and English.
Channel 13 said Monday that the main obstacle to the plan was coalition party leaders’ desire to work in the future with chareidi parties. Supporting such measures will no doubt enrage ultra-Orthodox lawmakers and may undermine the prospects for future political cooperation.
Likud MK David Amsalem responded to the new initiatives of Liberman in a Ynet interview.
Amsalem said that “the regular public in Israel, the Jewish and traditional majority, wants a state with a traditional identity. The current government wants to eradicate any vestige of Judaism.”
Amsalem added that “the government is persecuting those who study Torah as if they were Hezbollah fighters.”
It pains to say it but the kollel system is in serious need of reform. Today’s world of “yoshevei ohel” is over half a million people. While there are those who excel in this environment and are distinguished marbitzei Torah there are far more who are mediocrities and do not serve Klal Yisrael well in this role.
An anecdotal, real-life example; a meshulach, a Rosh Kollel came to me recently collecting. He presented a new sefer he had just published. Certainly such a fine work is worth 20x Chai! I thumbed through the table of contents to find it was all about the private learning seder a Talmid Chocham should keep while traveling to America to raise funds for his yeshiva. I am sure such a work serves his fellow yeshiva hanhalah well but it helps little outside that world. At any rate, is this the level of scholarship that is worthy of state support? I lean toward the “no” column.
This seems like a nice idea. why is incentivizing people to work erdactiing judiasm? Isn’t that what we want to? Whats wrong with working? Make a system where those that can, learn but thats its also OK to work, Torah is avada the ikkur still, like Lakewood.
“Yafeh Talmid Torah Im Derech Eretz.” In Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah, Hilchoth Talmidei Chachamim it is stated that a Torah Scholar who works part time, and studies most of the time (not “half and half”) is exempt from taxes for defence of the city: It follows he would also be exempt from armed service. Why can’t such a person get married here in Israel, and be considered Hareidi?
what a Rasha!! he will give the same amount of $$$ for kollel learners even while they learn a trade, what a rasha!!…..
im sure the Charedi Knesett members will fight him on this and insist that Kollel learned should get LESS $$$.
what irony..
Rasha me’rusha