In a July 7th article the Times of Israel report:
It begins:
Liberman is the founder of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), characterized in the Wikipedia entry as a "secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel."
The corresponding article in Haaretz adds:
It then notes the response of the two major religious parties:
In some ways, this is Israeli politics in a nutshell: a right-centrist Bennett-Lapid government in which its secularist right wing is clashing with the religious-right of the opposition.
And where is the left? Fortunately (in my opinion) Meretz at least appears to be focusing on the children. Again from Haaretz:
Health Minister and Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz also came out against the rules, with Kan reporting that he said that he was “in favor of giving children what they need - detached from what their parents do.”
“A child is an entity in of itself, and if it is in his best interest to be in a daycare center - I am not in favor of depriving him of it,” he declared.
Whatever the issue, when it comes to Israel - it's complicated.
It begins:
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday announced plans to introduce new conditions for receiving daycare subsidies for kids up to age 3, effectively ending them for some 21,000 children whose fathers are full-time yeshiva students.
Liberman said the subsidies will be granted only if both the child’s parents work at least 24 hours a week. Currently, only mothers must meet this requirement for a family to receive the monthly subsidy of NIS 1,000 ($305), with fathers exempt if they are involved in studies.
The change is expected to end the subsidies for around 18,000 households in which the fathers study Torah full-time and will take effect at the start of the new school year in September.
Families in which the father does not work at least 24 hours a week but is involved in academic or vocational studies will still be eligible for the subsidies, which will end for yeshiva students only.
In total, the daycare subsides are estimated to cost the state a yearly NIS 1.2 billion, of which about a third goes to families in which the father studies at a religious seminary.
Liberman said the subsidies will be granted only if both the child’s parents work at least 24 hours a week. Currently, only mothers must meet this requirement for a family to receive the monthly subsidy of NIS 1,000 ($305), with fathers exempt if they are involved in studies.
The change is expected to end the subsidies for around 18,000 households in which the fathers study Torah full-time and will take effect at the start of the new school year in September.
Families in which the father does not work at least 24 hours a week but is involved in academic or vocational studies will still be eligible for the subsidies, which will end for yeshiva students only.
In total, the daycare subsides are estimated to cost the state a yearly NIS 1.2 billion, of which about a third goes to families in which the father studies at a religious seminary.
Liberman is the founder of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), characterized in the Wikipedia entry as a "secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel."
The corresponding article in Haaretz adds:
In a statement, Lieberman, the vocally anti-Haredi chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that the decision was a sign of shifting priorities in which “those who work and pay taxes” would be prioritized and promised to continue to promote policies that “eliminate negative incentives for labor market integration.”
It then notes the response of the two major religious parties:
United Torah Judaism party chairman Moshe Gafni slammed the new policy, declaring that Lieberman, who he described as “evil,” was preventing ultra-Orthodox women from participating in the workforce, causing “severe economic harm to these families.”
“This is a direct and deliberate attack on ultra-Orthodox families, out of disgust and hatred towards the students and families with children,” UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman declared, accusing the government of “waging a struggle against all that is sacred and dear to us.”
Speaking with state broadcaster Kan, Shas party chairman Arye Deri said that while efforts to encourage the ultra-Orthodox to enter the workforce are legitimate, the new policy showed that the government was waging “war” against working mothers.
“This is a direct and deliberate attack on ultra-Orthodox families, out of disgust and hatred towards the students and families with children,” UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman declared, accusing the government of “waging a struggle against all that is sacred and dear to us.”
Speaking with state broadcaster Kan, Shas party chairman Arye Deri said that while efforts to encourage the ultra-Orthodox to enter the workforce are legitimate, the new policy showed that the government was waging “war” against working mothers.
In some ways, this is Israeli politics in a nutshell: a right-centrist Bennett-Lapid government in which its secularist right wing is clashing with the religious-right of the opposition.
And where is the left? Fortunately (in my opinion) Meretz at least appears to be focusing on the children. Again from Haaretz:
Health Minister and Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz also came out against the rules, with Kan reporting that he said that he was “in favor of giving children what they need - detached from what their parents do.”
“A child is an entity in of itself, and if it is in his best interest to be in a daycare center - I am not in favor of depriving him of it,” he declared.
Whatever the issue, when it comes to Israel - it's complicated.
