Opinion & Comment
Torah Will Not Be Forgotten

It is clear that the scope of the cuts in programs that affect the chareidi community are focused and goal-oriented. They are an exercise in social engineering whose intent is to bring about sweeping changes in the lifestyle of the chareidi community in Eretz Yisroel. Those behind it want to "change" the chareidim from living spiritual lives "dependent" on government support programs and funding into "productive citizens" more involved in material issues who support themselves. Some of them probably even think that the chareidim will thank them after it is all over. However, this program rests on flawed assumptions and it will not work.

There is no doubt that the cutbacks are severe and that they will hurt very much. They will cause extensive reorganizations in the educational institutions that are so important to us, as smaller schools will be forced to consolidate, and the overcrowding that we already suffer will become worse.

Yet the program of Shinui that is being implemented by this government (with the participation of the NRP) is based on a big myth about the extent that the chareidi lifestyle depends on support from the Israeli government. The truth is that many more chareidim work at one job or another than is commonly realized. The loss of children's allowances, for example, will be upsetting to most families but it will not devastate them, except for the most marginal families who will suffer very much, Hashem yeracheim.

Wisely, the gedolim always refused to allow the Israeli government to fully fund the yeshivas even when the offer was made, as it reportedly was by Menachem Begin. Losing a third of the budget of an institution is quite different from losing the entire budget at once. The fact that a significant portion of the educational resources do not come from government sources will give the institutions room to reorganize their operations to deal with at least part of the losses without immediately collapsing.

For families as well, even though the loss of income will hurt, the state of society is such that there is room to cut back. Many families have experienced variations in their income, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. Many have experience dealing with lower levels of income.

Overall, the changes are liable to bring about distress but unlikely to be so great as to bring about radical change.

This is what the people of Shinui really want: radical change in chareidi lifestyles. They want the economic pressures to be so strong that they will force us to make deep changes in our lives and our values. This they will not get.

The pressures are not so strong and our commitment is not so weak. Pharaoh tried to break us with toil, and tyrants through the ages tried to oppress us with taxation and restrictions. We persisted and, be'eizer Hashem, we will continue to persist. Even if we are weaker than our ancestors, the oppressors are also not as strong.

Things are moving extremely fast and it is impossible to see ahead to how things will settle after the drastic cuts are made. However we are confident that the guidance of the gedolim and the promises to our ancestors that Torah will not be forgotten, will see us through.

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