Haredi MKs oppose hot meat meals for Haredi kids

The "Education Committee of the Knesset has passed new regulations obligating all educational institutions (i.e. schools) for children up to the age of 18 year sold to serve a daily hot meat meal to the students.

This regulation obligates all schools -secular, religious, Haredi, public and semi-public schools.

The approved meal list includes a selection of, for the main item, pargiyot, chicken breast, turkey, pieces of meat, shnitzel and hamburgers.

Had the regulation been passed just for the secular, MK Eichler surely would have gone on one of his fire and brimstone  attacks about discrimination against Haredim an dhow come they deserve less, etc. Yet, now that the Haredi schools are equally obligated, the Haredi MKs instead want an exemption. The representative of the yeshivvot ketanot is saying that this will double the food expense of the yeshivas, which will end up being passed on to the parents. Rather, the State should be paying for it, if the State wants to obligate them to serve such meals.

Committee head MK Yaakov Margi (Shas) continued to pass the regulations, drawing the ire of the UTJ opponents, though he had the approval of Health Minister Yaakov Litzman. MK Yaakov Asher complained, but Litzman said his job is health and his role is to approve this as a healthy initiative, and if he has a problem with it he should turn to the Ministry of Education to request an exemption for the yeshivot ketanot. After trying to pressure Minister Aryeh Deri to push Margi to stop it, Deri said they should go to Porush who is Deputy Minister in Misrad Hachinuch and they should leave Shas alone. .

Margi's response to this whole thing is basically that some jokers think that everyone has to eat healthy food except for Haredim and he won't approve an exception for the yeshivot ketanot.
sources:  Kikar, Kol Hai

Such a program gives an opportunity for many kids who would otherwise not get a hot, healthy, meal with protein. We've heard many times in the fight over kitzvat yeladim that lowering the subsidy is taking food out of the mouths of kids and there are so many kids who go to school with no food. This is the same situation. What will they do about paying for it? I am sure they can find a way to get more money out of the government to cover most of the costs. They've been able to increase the budgets tremendously over the past two years, yet somehow the tuition rates have not been lowered, so it seems there is no direct correlation between government budgets and tuition. At the end of the day the parents will probably have to pay for it. What will parents who cannot afford it do? Good question

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