Deputy AGs: Deny Daycare Subsidies To Chareidim Who Work As Well

Deputy Attorneys General Adv. Avital Sompolinsky and Adv. Gil Limon sent a formal letter to Amir Medina, the Acting Director-General of the Ministry of Labor, addressing the updated eligibility requirements for tuition subsidies in daycare centers and family-based daycares for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year.

In the letter, they referred to a Supreme Court ruling regarding a petition that challenged the eligibility of parents who are legally obligated to enlist in the military but sought subsidies based on religious studies. The court established a transitional period before these subsidies would be phased out. Following this decision, the Minister of Labor issued revised subsidy criteria, which officially remove alternative eligibility for religious students who are required to enlist, effective March 2025.

The deputies highlighted that, due to hundreds of requests asking to amend the subsidy conditions and reports that certain groups were instructing parents on how to bypass the rules, a new policy was created. This policy sets out detailed documentation requirements for applicants requesting a change in employment status beginning in March 2025, in order to block fraudulent claims. The new procedure has already been approved and made public.

They then addressed two main concerns. The first involves challenges in verifying eligibility when a parent works for their spouse’s business or within a religious institution. As they explained, “There is a conceptual difficulty in granting subsidies based on a criterion whose fulfillment cannot be verified, and consequently, enforcing it is impossible.”

The second issue raised relates to military service. According to the deputies, “granting direct subsidies on a significant scale to encourage employment or studies of a person whose legal obligation is military enlistment is incompatible with the duty to enlist and with the principle of the rule of law.”

To resolve this, they suggested considering the inclusion of a requirement in the subsidy criteria that would make the regularization of one’s status with the military authorities a condition for receiving financial support, regardless of any other qualifying factors.

In closing, the deputies called for developing a clear, well-reasoned policy regarding the subsidy framework, taking into account the various legal and practical challenges involved.

{Matzav.com}