looks great. I have been to a spot right next to this but I think I will have to check this out..

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Since the new government took over, even before any anti-haredi decrees were officially announced but especially since, people from across the spectrum are speaking up in defense of the Haredi community in various forms.

I think that is an interesting development.

A Haaretz oped says that Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman has not done enough with his cut of including Haredim in the subsidized price for day care and calls on Lieberman to expand his cuts to all discounts and subsidies that have been offered to Haredim (people who learn in Kollel) until now.

The oped makes a calculation taking into account the discounts and subsidies given to haredim, such as arnona discount, government support for kollel (plus additional kollel payment), discounts for schools, discounts for dormitories and for various forms of day care and afternoon care, minimal payments to Bituach Leumi, rental assistance, and maybe more to an average of 5000nis per family per month. 

I have no idea if this is accurate or not (Hamechadesh says it is not, but it does not offer a more accurate estimate).

So the oped says Lieberman got off to a good start but didn't do nearly enough and must cut all this out, basically giving the Haredim nothing (at least those who learn in kollel) - including the additional kollel stipend not paid by the government. I am not quite sure how Strasler, the author of the oped, expects that to be cut considering the government doesnt pay for it, but ok.

So first of all, slow down and give him a chance. We all know Lieberman is likely to make some more cuts to at least some of these programs. He has only been in office a very short time. Strasler seems to be getting overly excited at the opportunity to cut Haredi funding. Take a breath and be patient.

Second, at least some of that is welfare and will almost definitely continue no matter what. Of course that is unless welfare support in general is cut - the fact is they are on a low socio-economic level and will qualify for welfare. Health care and Bituach Leumi are paid minimally by all students and anybody not working. I highly doubt that will be changed, even by Lieberman.

the demand seems laughable, if not simply impatient. Lieberman will surely cut some more, but even he will probably not cut everything completely. 

Avi Ravina, a Haredi journalist for Kol Hai News, reported on twitter last night that the rabbis on the rabbinic committee of Ichud Hatzala are threatening to resign from their positions. they claim, according to the report, that Ichud Hatzala has gotten less and less Haredi of an organization over time, and has turned into more of an Israeli organization. To rectify the situation it seems that they want Ichud Hatzala to separate the Haredi volunteers into a separate division, under the umbrella of a separate "non-profit", from the rest of the volunteers.

If this should happen, they would still serve together, side by side saving lives, just be called two separate things and be fundraised for under two different names? Or would they serve separately as separate life-saving organizations, maybe each taking control of different areas or maybe each competing for the same calls?

I am not sure how this would work but initially it sounds like a superficial demand, to just call it two separate organizations even though they will both continue to function in saving lives together. This seems to be about appearances - it seems less Haredi - and not actually about saving lives, or specific halachic issues that have become problematic.

Hopefully this will blow over and turn into nothing significant. Hatzala has grown into such a powerful life-saving organization, clearly doing something right - it would be a shame to tinker with that.

And I am pretty sure Hatzala is still thought of as mostly a Haredi organization in identity, if that is important to some people.

PM Bennett:

MK Netanyahu:

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It will be interesting to see how this plays out, how an Orthodox Jew can try to make this work....

Meaning, if I want to go to camp, or to send my kids to a camp, the process goes something like finding the relevant camp that fits our budget and signing up, or finding an alternative. If I want to go to an amusement park or a ballgame or a concert, I find the relevant event and decide whether or not to buy a ticket based on the various factors - date, ticket price, convenience, etc.

Aryeh Deri, formerly Minister of the Periphery, South and Galilee, turned the ministry (which was created for him) into a funnel of money to sponsor events in the Haredi communities around the country. According to Haredim10, for example, in 2019 the Ministry funded tiyulim for 46,000 yeshiva students. 86% of tiyulim sponsored and funded by the ministry were for the students in the Haredi yeshivas.

The new minister who has replaced Deri, Minister Oded Forer has decided to put an end to this. While he has not yet announced his plans he did say this will not continue and the entire budget of the ministry will undergo a revision and they will be used to effect a real change in the south, galilee and periphery, whatever that means.

Deri has responded that more yeshiva students got tiyulim but their tiyulim were shorter, and the general population also benefited from the funding with less students participating but for longer tiyulim. The article goes into some of the numbers, blah blah blah. How much they spent on this or that group is not of any interest to me. Additionally, if the entire program is coming to an end and it was distributed equally despite it being distributed differently (as Deri claims), then it is not anti-Haredi to stop the program because it is being stopped for everyone.

I do not understand why the government is paying for kids, of any type to go on tiyulim, to have kumzitz and for yeshivas to have camps in the summer, for bike rides and for concerts. And now they are anti-Haredi because the new people in charge are stopping it. It does not make any sense to me. My family recently went on a tiyul and we paid for it ourselves. I just don't get the need or demand for the government to pay for everything someone wants to do. I guess it is nice that they did until now but it doesnt bother me in the slightest that it is being stopped.

  -- Incoming Director of the Ministry of Health, Professor Nachman Ash

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