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World Jewish News
National Union: Likud to incorporate yeshiva funding into state budget
13.03.2009
National Union representatives on Friday said that a preliminary agreement has been reached in coalition talks between the ultra-Orthodox umbrella group and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
After the negotiations, National Union Chairman Ya'akov Katz said that Likud has agreed to turn funding for yeshivas into an integral part of the state budget. Katz called the move revolutionary, saying that it would prevent yeshiva heads from having to beg the government for additional aid.
Yeshiva funding was cut dramatically during former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's tenure and increased again during Ehud Olmert's term.
According to reports, the budget for each married yeshiva student has reached an all-time high of NIS 1,080 per month, and NIS 600 for seminary students above age 18.
Katz earlier on Friday said that his party is likely to receive the housing portfolio and fellow ultra-Orthodox party Habayit Hayehudi will receive the education portfolio in the next government.
Katz added that the two "will form an alliance both in the Knesset and in the government, placing both representatives of the national religious public in a key position."
The Likud, however, has denied Katz's statements and has insisted that the "education portfolio will stay with us, while the housing portfolio has already been promised to Shas."
The housing portfolio has proved to be a contentious issue in the coalition negotiations. The portfolio is at the center of a dispute between the right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties, as the latter presented it as a prerequisite to their joining the cabinet.
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Источник: Haaretz
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