Senior Finance Ministry officials were set to present the socioeconomic cabinet with a new plan to encourage employment in the Haredi sector Tuesday morning. The plan, which was first reported by Channel 13, was compiled in accordance with a directive from Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
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If adopted, the program would see the government end subsidies for property taxes, after-school programs, and daycare for the unemployed and cut the hours of weekly Torah study at yeshivas from 40 to 20 to allow married yeshiva students to work part-time. The plan would not see any changes made to budgets for Yeshiva students.
In addition, the government would encourage Haredi schools to teach core curriculum.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to support the program.
Nevertheless, the program is a political landmine as it is expected to meet with opposition from some coalition members. One of the first moves Lieberman made upon being tasked with the Finance Ministry portfolio was to require both parents to be either employed or study a vocation in order to be eligible for subsidized daycare. The move, which would have impacted 21,000 toddlers in the Haredi community, was blocked by the High Court of Justice when it ruled in January subsidies would continue until the end of the current school year.
United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni lashed out at Lieberman, saying: "The plan that was published now is not new …. We [the Jewish people] have seen many Liebermans throughout history who were always short-lived, and the people of Israel is alive and well."
Blue and White MK Michael Biton, who heads the economic committee, on the other hand, welcomed the move. "I am happy about Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman's announcement on the convening of the socioeconomic cabinet tomorrow. We expect to see a complete and comprehensive process in this challenging and complicated period for the economy in Israel and the entire population in Israeli society."
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