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29 Kislev 5764 - December 24, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Three Models for New Religious Councils
by Eliezer Rauchberger

Prime Minister's Office Director-General Avigdor Yitzchaki revealed to the Knesset Finance Committee the new plan to replace the present religious councils (moatzot dat), which are slated for closure, presenting three models for providing religious services according to the needs and resources of the respective cities.

Yitzchaki said 134 cities, towns and settlements across the country are preparing for the recovery program and the change in the status of the current religious councils. According to the new law, which will be integrated into the Arrangements Law, there will no longer be a salary for deputy religious council chairmen, and whether the chairman will be paid is still under consideration. Who will run religious services remains a question.

Yitzchaki then presented the Knesset members with the following three models:

1. In large cities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, where demand for religious services is high, a special department will be set up in the municipality for their provision.

2. In cities where demand is relatively light and the matter of religious services is not taken seriously, to use Yitzchaki's words, such as Herzliya and Ramat Hasharon, an "association for religious services" will be set up and will serve several neighboring towns.

3. In small settlements and moshavim an entity similar to today's regional religious councils will be set up to serve all of the settlements in the area.

Yitzchaki said the Prime Minister's office is currently assembling new councils and associations, which will be announced soon.

During the meeting a sharp dispute broke out between United Torah Jewry committee members MKs Rabbi Moshe Gafni and Rabbi Yaakov Litzman and Director-General Yitzchaki regarding the difficult situation many religious council workers around the country have been placed in, after not receiving their salaries for months and in some cases even a year or more.

Yitzchaki repeated his earlier declarations that the religious council workers are not seen as state employees and the government does not consider itself responsible for paying their salaries or pensions, thereby dismissing charges of withholding their salaries. "Just as we are not responsible for paying mayors despite granting balancing grants, and just as we are not responsible for paying city firefighters' associations, we are not responsible for the pay of religious council workers," said Yitzchaki.

Rabbi Gafni lodged harsh criticism against Yitzchaki for his hard stance against every solution for withheld pay for religious council employees. "We were present in the Knesset at meetings where the heart-rending and shocking circumstances that have befallen religious council workers were shown. The situation of hundreds of workers is declining," he said protesting the 50 percent cut in religious councils for 2004. "I ask you, Mr. Director- General, what other budget has been cut so drastically, from NIS 120 million per year to NIS 70 million next year? This means you are telling us there is no longer any need for religious services or for the state's Jewish character. You are strangling religious services. You are making it impossible to pay wages at the religious councils. Will we now be able to say this is a heartless government? What explanation can there be for this frenzied cutting of the religious council budgets? This is an arbitrary decision to insult and starve religious council employees."

MK Rabbi Litzman also spoke harshly against Yitzchaki's attempt to deny responsibility for religious council employees. "How could it be that we have held numerous discussions about religious council employees for many months, and only [now] for the first time am I suddenly hearing that they are not even government workers and that the government does not see itself as responsible for paying their wages? To what address can a religious council worker turn? According to what you are saying, he has nowhere to direct his justifying claims of withheld pay. Where are such things heard of?"

In response Director-General Yitzchaki reiterated his position that religious council workers do not have the status of government workers, but revealed that a special fund is being planned at the Prime Minister's Office to assist places where money will have to be made available for budgeting the pensions of religious council workers, with whom an agreement will be reached.

At a Knesset plenum held earlier Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Yitzhak Levy said he contacted the Attorney General to receive his binding legal opinion on the status of religious council workers following contradictory opinions on the issue given by legal consultants at various ministries. Some ministries--such as the Finance Ministry--claim the government and local authorities have no responsibility toward religious council workers, towards salaries and pensions or toward debts, while others hold the state and the municipalities do have a responsibility toward the religious councils.

Levy spoke in the Knesset in response to a question submitted by MK Rabbi Litzman, who claimed the Finance Ministry is presenting the Knesset Finance Committee various suggestions regarding the religious councils and the religious council workers, and expressed wonder, "how the Finance Ministry can intervene to suggest various proposals regarding religious council workers when it is not responsible for their pay and they are not even working for it? How can it say whether to close or not to close, whether there should be a chairman or should not be a chairman? How is this relevant to [the Finance Ministry] if it is not responsible for pensions or salaries?"

Deputy Minister Levy expressed full agreement with Rabbi Litzman's challenge. "You're one hundred percent right," he said. "I think the Finance Ministry's involvement is out of place. I think the Finance Ministry is trying to `dance at every wedding.' Unfortunately we are part of the same government and on this I have no answer. I think the Finance Ministry is taking an incorrect stance toward the workers. The state must take responsibility for all religious council workers and attend to the debts owed to them. These are heavy debts. If this is not done, even if there is enough [funding] in the regular 2004 budget, it will not be of much assistance since the matter will get mired down," he warned.

Later he added, "we are currently making numerous efforts and if the matter is not solved with the Finance Minister it will be brought before the Prime Minister for a final decision and the Knesset will also be able to have its say through this or other channels."

 

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