New Blow to the Chareidi Community: Funding Slashed for Yeshivos Serving Struggling Youth

In yet another move seen as targeting the chareidi community, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has ruled that tens of millions of shekels in government funding designated for yeshivos catering to struggling youth—commonly known as yeshivos for noshrim, dropouts—must be revoked. The institutions, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Welfare, were allocated 35 million shekels this year alone.

These yeshivos provide a lifeline for chareidi boys between the ages of 17 and 23, many of whom are considered at-risk or disconnected from standard educational frameworks. Most are of army enlistment age.

According to a report on Kan 11, the decision followed a petition submitted to the High Court after a previous ruling determined that these young men are obligated to enlist. The petition demanded that the state withhold funding from these yeshivos just as it does from avreichim who are legally obligated to serve in the IDF but are not exempted.

In response, Baharav-Miara concluded that state funds must be suspended for these institutions unless the students in question receive individual military exemptions. The government will soon present this legal position to the High Court.

The ruling has sparked outrage in the chareidi sector, which views it as a direct attack on vulnerable youth who already face significant personal and social challenges. Critics argue that cutting support for institutions dedicated to helping these young men is not only punitive but harmful to Israeli society as a whole.

{Matzav.com Israel}