Government marks NIS 36 million for ultra-Orthodox education system run by Shas — report

The government approves NIS 36 million ($9.5 million) for the ultra-Orthodox education system run by political party Shas, Calcalist reports.

The funding still must be reviewed and approved by the Knesset Finance Committee before being transferred.

The funding — NIS 19 million ($5 million) for summer programming and NIS 17 million ($4.5 million) for Shas’s Maayan school network – was introduced to today’s deliberations “unexpectedly and did not appear on the agenda,” Calcalist reports.

The funds were originally agreed upon as part of the coalition agreement with Shas, but were “stuck,” because transferring the monies was conditioned on the Shas school network meeting certain criteria.

The move comes at a time of heightened tensions in the governing coalition around ultra-Orthodox issues. Shas has recently threatened to bolt the coalition if the so-called “Municipal Rabbis Bill,” which critics say is an attempt to provide jobs for party apparatchiks, does not pass into law.