Government Weighs Total Freeze of Yeshiva Funding Amid Draft-Evasion Ruling

In a dramatic escalation following a recent Israeli High Court ruling, officials in Israel’s Finance Ministry and Justice Ministry are now considering a complete halt to all yeshiva funding until the government can verify that none of the money is being directed—directly or indirectly—to students classified as draft-evaders.

The emerging proposal, reported by Kan News, comes days after the High Court ruled that the state may not finance, even indirectly, any yeshiva bochurim who are legally obligated to enlist and have not received deferments.

While government allocations to the Olam HaTorah have already been sharply reduced over the past year, funds are still being transferred to yeshivas under existing budget frameworks. Senior officials, however, fear that even with stipends to draft-evading students already frozen, general yeshiva funding may still ultimately benefit those individuals.

Earlier today, Kan News reporter Tamar Almog revealed on Reshet Bet that the Attorney General intervened to block an increase in funding for foreign-born avreichim for precisely that concern, arguing that until the government can prove that allocations are not “leaking” to draft-evaders, such increases cannot move forward.

Tonight, it was disclosed for the first time that ministries are weighing an across-the-board shutdown of the entire yeshiva budget unless and until the state can demonstrate clearly that no part of the funding is supporting students who are obligated to enlist.

Such a measure would freeze billions of shekels annually and would set off a major political and communal upheaval, dealing an unprecedented blow to the chareidi sector and triggering far-reaching implications in the coalition.

{Matzav.com}