Hiddush – for Religious Freedom & Equality
The full extent of the extortion of the government by its partners, (and mostly by the ultra-Orthodox and national-Orthodox parties) is now being revealed. There is no doubt that a special cry of “Shame!” will be added to the cries of thousands of demonstrators against the judicial overhaul this Saturday evening. Billions of shekels in “special allocation” funds [akin to “Pork Barrels”] have been revealed, surpassing anything we have seen in the past.
Some 30 years ago, the Supreme Court banned the “special allocations”, however, there is no doubt that this deplorable phenomenon is now making a comeback, big time, and with no trace of shame. The words of Justice Barak, who expressed the principle that public funds should be allocated “according to the weight of the matter and not according to the weight of the interested party”, illustrate the extent of the perversion that is occurring before the eyes of the public.
Perhaps the politician’s desire to horse-trade State funds in order to buy the votes of the coalition partners also explains their eagerness to castrate the Supreme Court, lest it blocks them again.
The funding is feeding the growing appetite of the ultra-Orthodox and the National-Orthodox for their yeshivas, for yeshiva students who evade military and civil service, for increased religious proselytizing of secular Israelis, and the expansion of state-funded education without core studies [intended to ensure that the younger generation too will be unable to integrate into the labor market and will remain dependent on public coffers). All this, while budgets for social welfare, aid to the poor and the middle class fall victim to political cynicism.
Many of the billions that the government and the Knesset are about to approve (if the public protest and the courts are of no avail) are detrimental to the most important interests of the State of Israel (namely – security and the economy) and will further alienate Diaspora Jewry, whom this government treats as second-class Jews.
What is just as important to emphasize is that that a large majority of the public, (including Likud voters) are opposed to these allocations, as shown by in-depth public opinion surveys conducted by Hiddush. In the Religion and State Index 2022 the public was asked for their reaction to the pre-election announcement by the leader of the Shas ultra-Orthodox religious party, which is now coming true. Rabbi Deri announced that “when we return to the government – we will demand budget allocations in billions and as an integral part of the State Budget”. 73% of the adult Jewish population (including 59% of Likud voters!) expressed their opposition to these demands. When the public was asked about allocations for yeshivas (which will now be increased by billions of shekels) 69% of the adult Jewish public replied that support for yeshivas should be canceled or significantly cut, and this was also the position of 65% of Likud voters before the elections!
Thirty years have passed since the Supreme Court ruling against the illegal phenomenon of “special allocations”. It’s time to fight again for the eradication of these malignant tumors.
