The State of Israel, which is growing and developing, today marks a black spot on its calendar: Today, the 9th of Tevet, the day on which several troubles befell the people of Israel (see Shulchan Ach 1542,2 and the Ha-Hagash Laws of 9th of Av), another trouble is recorded: the day on which approximately 10,000 avrechim lose 1,040 NIS of their subsistence, which has been given to them until now by the State of Israel.
10,000 families with three or more children will now have to struggle to find a new source of livelihood. Israel is not a widow, and generous people are opening their hearts. Where is my life, my food. If not in the form of support from the state – I have no doubt that God will have other messengers to feed those children, or other ways to ensure their existence. They will have to adapt, the charitable organizations will have to try harder, or perhaps other miracles will simply happen to them. As someone who grew up in a family that relied on the same income support for about 4 years, about 20 years ago, I know that those avrechim see visible miracles. Therefore, the following lines do not discuss the fate of the avrechim as it will be – but rather their fate as the State of Israel sought to make it happen.
A bitter joke tells of a prisoner who was given the option of choosing to receive something from his captors – on the condition that his captor’s hater also receive twice as much of the same thing. In his great hatred, the prisoner calculated and found: "Please, gouge out one of my eyes," he requested. The main thing is that his haters gouge out two. This joke is becoming a frightening reality in the State of Israel: instead of fighting for the welfare of certain groups, there are those who fight in the name of "equality" against the welfare of other groups. The petitioners of High Court of Justice 4124/00, led by Arnan Yekutieli, whose name is wicked, did not fight for the welfare of the students. If that had been their goal, they would have worked for legislation that would be beneficial to students. Instead, they came out against Torah students, and against the State of Israel’s support for them.
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That damned ruling, spread out over 56 pages what could have been said in one paragraph: "We hate Torah students, and therefore we will do everything in our power to make them stop studying, even if it constitutes a disproportionate harm to their children, who are also growing up and being educated to dedicate their lives to Torah.".
At length and in a convoluted manner, the various judges, led by Dorit Beinisch, explained why it is forbidden, God forbid, for the State of Israel to support Torah students whose wives do not work. Incidentally, according to data submitted to the Knesset several years ago, nearly 2,000 of those avrechim, that is, about a fifth of them, work part-time to support their families, under the section that allows them to work a certain number of hours and still receive the same income guarantee. The fact that few can live in this way for days and years, and this is a group whose opportunity gives its wives a "time-out" to raise a few small children while their husbands study, before returning to the labor market, while choosing a reduced life - we see you living on 1,040 NIS per month with one child, let alone three or more - this fact is too painful for Torah haters.
""Torah study is a commandment from the Torah... 'And these things shall be'... 'Keep and do all the words of this Torah'... 'This book of Torah shall not depart from your mouth'... And in the Talmud: 'And study Torah in accordance with all'... Those commandments that I quoted from the sources have led many to see the study of Torah as the essence and purpose of their lives, and to this they dedicate all their time with boundless devotion, and out of a deep belief that by doing so they sustain the world.
The howl of the liberals
Even if one disagrees with this view, it seems undeniable that Torah study, which did not cease even when Israel was exiled from its land, made a decisive contribution to its preservation as a people and to preventing its assimilation among the nations. Indeed, this is a unique group that has chosen an almost ascetic lifestyle, and that sees Torah study as a calling and not part of a time-bound process for acquiring a profession that may also bring economic well-being in the future. The implication of this is that the component of maximizing earning capacity that underlies the Income Security Law is not applicable to the case of Torah students, since their Torah is their art.".
I did not write these words. This is a quote from that damned ruling, written by the late Justice Edmund Levy, the only one who was in the minority and vigorously opposed the repeal of this meager support.
""The controversy surrounding the question of whether the livelihood of Torah students should be borne by the public is not new to us. However, for our purposes, it is important that the people of Israel, through the elected bodies – the Knesset and the government – believed that this question should be answered in the affirmative. This is a value-based decision that stems from the recognition that Torah study is essential for the people of Israel, and I do not believe that the court is authorized to change it, especially since very modest sums were allocated for this, which were intended to enable only basic subsistence and nothing more. The additional question is of course whether that decision is not discriminatory, and it is correct to answer this in the negative, since, as mentioned, there is a relevant and essential difference between Torah students and the reference group on which the petition is based.".
Here, Levi also said the following: Even that "discrimination" that the liberal hypocrites cried out against did not exist at all. How many of the students are fathers of three or more children, whose wives asked to rest for several years? And if there are any - on the contrary, those who fight against it should fight for those students and help them also receive support in the law. But no: The State of Israel, while taking a step towards legislation on the bull's horn because "we have no part or inheritance in the G-d of Israel," announced: We have no part or inheritance in assisting Torah students whose wives do not work.
''Not elected, not voting: you are to blame'
Those who will be hurt, first and foremost, are the ultra-Orthodox women who asked for a little rest between births, and will now be forced to maneuver with a much reduced budget. This is the place to remind all those who are after the crocodile tears of the "No Votes, No Elections" movement, who they are after. The person who founded this movement, the person who is creating the great media buzz on the subject, answers to the name Esti Shoshan.
Upon the decision to cancel the income guarantee, Ms. Shoshan wrote an article titled 'Haredi leaders in shock: Children cost money." Ignoring the fact that the outcry from Haredi elected officials against the decision is about the very principle that the State of Israel chooses not to support Torah scholars and their wives; while throwing sand in her eyes as she argues against the public outcry on the matter, Ms. Shoshan trampled on the rights of true Haredi women, women who asked that their husbands reside in the house of God all their lives and were prepared to live in extreme austerity – and mocked the attitude of austerity and contentment with little.
If you were looking for a test case for the concern of Haredi MKs for Haredi women, here it is: MKs fought against it, again and again. Already after the High Court of Justice's decision on the matter in 2010, Eli Yishai announced that he would submit a new law - but the new law was also invalidated by the High Court of Justice. The knowledge that 10,000 Haredi women would be harmed by the decision did not stop Shoshan from mocking those who shouted against her, sending sharp arrows at Haredi women who choose to have three or more children, and making claims about the very legitimacy of their move to have additional children when they live a frugal life. Yes, Haredi women. The leader of "Not Elected - Not Voting" did not come out for you in the moment of truth, she came out against you. Remember that when you go to the polls.
