MKs clash over approval of NIS 17 million for Haredi summer school programs

Lawmakers trade barbs and allegations of antisemitism after the Knesset Finance Committee approves the transfer of NIS 17 million ($4.6 million) for summer programs for so-called ultra-Orthodox “exempt” schools, which only teach part of the state-mandated core curriculum.

Opposition lawmakers argue that the funds, which are intended for programs held over the summer break, constitute double budgeting for the Haredi schools, which start vacation later than their secular counterparts and spend less time off.

An Education Ministry representative says that both kinds of schools get funding for only 10 months of regular classes regardless of how much time they take off for summer vacation but opposition lawmakers counter that funding for summer programs should not go to schools that continue regular classes.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak, one of the leading opponents of the measure, says that he did not receive satisfactory answers from state representatives regarding the eligibility of the schools nor regarding the impact of reallocating so much money from the education budget.

Members of the opposition have written to Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik to ask for a legal review of the committee’s decision.

Addressing the Knesset plenum following the committee vote, United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus accuses opposition members of antisemitism, asking, “What is wrong with a Haredi [child] that he doesn’t deserve a summer camp in his kindergarten, because he doesn’t learn math?”