Government Approves NIS 165 Million Transfer to Support Torah Institutions, Sparks Controversy

The government has authorized the transfer of NIS 165 million to support Torah institutions, resulting in a significant increase in the scope of coalition funds by an additional NIS 145 million. The total amount of coalition funds for 2023 is now expected to reach 5.8 billion shekels, surpassing the budget initially announced in February during the preparation of the government's budget.

Major donors contributing to the budget increase for Torah institutions include the Ministry of Defense with NIS 37 million, the Ministry of Transportation with NIS 11 million, and both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Security with NIS 9 million each. Additionally, the higher education, employment, and health systems will contribute six million shekels each.

Notably, a significant portion of the increased funds, approximately NIS 51 million, stems from an increase in the number of yeshiva students. Ultra-orthodox politicians emphasized this point to justify the necessity of the current transfer.

However, an additional NIS 94 million has been allocated for more controversial reasons. Out of this amount, NIS 79 million is intended for "increasing the scope of support" to ensure that every Yeshiva and Avarach student receives a higher monthly allowance. This allocation comes in response to demands from ultra-Orthodox politicians, who insisted that horizontal cuts affecting other government ministries should not be applied to their institutions.

In contrast, the Treasury argued that the essence of horizontal cuts is to ensure equitable distribution of funds when the budget is limited, affecting all parties.

The budget for Torah institutions has now reached NIS 1.089 billion with the recent NIS 165 million increase. However, a previous decision made in May stated that an additional NIS 250 million will be transferred from the budget intended for ultra-Orthodox education to support these institutions. For 2024, the commissioner of budgets has been tasked with finding an alternative budgetary source for the same amount, or else a 1.85% horizontal cut will be applied to all government ministries.

A notable element of the recent decision is a reallocation of approximately 20 million shekels, originally intended for infrastructure and renovations in settlement yeshivots and yeshivas encouraging military service. These funds will now support the studies of female students in white seminaries and Torah institutions operating in localities surrounding Gaza, or encouraging military service. This diversion was justified by the Finance Minister, citing a lack of anticipated utilization for infrastructure budgets during 2023.

Amidst the increasing budgets for ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, one decision involved a cut to the budget of the Authority for Economic and Social Development of the ultra-Orthodox sector. The budget reduction amounted to NIS 35 million, resulting in a total of NIS 215 million, to finance the increase in public transport subsidy and prevent the recent price hike.

Critics argue that while the government is bolstering yeshiva budgets, which they believe undermines incentives for integration into the economy and society, the same decision simultaneously reduces the budget of the body responsible for the socio-economic advancement of the ultra-Orthodox community, raising concerns about the government's priorities.