Israeli Government Gives Up On Anti-Racism Measure After Ultra-Orthodox Threaten To Bolt The Coalition

The text of the quashed government resolution called on the Education Ministry "to within four months make a substantive change in its supervision of the registration and placement of girls in Haredi schools." This change should include "establishing clear rules for the girls' registration process, and publicizing them," as well increasing supervision of the process. Ashkenazic ultra-Orthodox girls schools have been implicated in widespread illegal exclusion of Sefardic girls on ethnic grounds.

 Originally posted at 8:37 pm CST 5-18-11.

Cabinet backtracks on anti-discrimination resolution following Haredi pressure
United Torah Judaism threatened to quit the coalition if the cabinet approved a resolution to address discrimination in Haredi schools.
By Yair Ettinger • Ha’aretz

The cabinet backtracked several weeks ago from issuing a resolution against ethnic discrimination in Haredi (ultra-Orthodox ) schools, after United Torah Judaism threatened to pull out of the coalition if it was approved.

The resolution was meant to be a first step, if only a declarative one, toward correcting the serious deficiencies in this matter, which were described in 57 pages of the state comptroller's Report released on Tuesday.

The comptroller said that the Education Ministry had failed to properly supervise the registration and placement of Sephardi girls in the schools of the Ashkenazi-run Hinuch Atzma'i network, which are "recognized but unofficial" schools, fully funded by the government.

"The ministry doesn't do what is necessary to prevent discrimination," the comptroller wrote, noting a serious shortage in the number of inspectors overseeing the acceptance procedures in Haredi schools.

The text of the government resolution, obtained by Haaretz, called on the Education Ministry "to within four months make a substantive change in its supervision of the registration and placement of girls in Haredi schools."

It added that this change should include "establishing clear rules for the girls' registration process, and publicizing them," as well increasing supervision of the process and issuing periodic reports on the implementation of the changes.

The Prime Minister's Office had initiated the resolution over a month ago, after it received a preliminary version of the state comptroller's report. Officials had wanted the resolution passed quickly, so that its passage could be included in the response to the comptroller that would appear in the final report.

Copies of the draft resolution were distributed to every minister, and after a copy reached Knesset Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni, he worked forcefully to scuttle it, threatening to pull his party out of the government coalition if it was passed - without discussing it with Education Ministry and Haredi education officials.

Gafni argued that the resolution violated the Budget Law, which grants total autonomy to the recognized Haredi education systems, Hinuch Atzma'i and Shas' Maayan Hahinuch Hatorani.

He told Haaretz yesterday that he supports implementing the report's conclusions, so long as the schools' educational autonomy is maintained. He distinguished between "administrative" deficiencies and substantive issues protected by this autonomy. Gafni did not specify how this distinction might affect preventing ethnic discrimination in Haredi schools.

"The independence of Haredi education has nothing to do with discrimination, and we must deal with all the administrative deficiencies," Gafni said. "Our leading rabbis also oppose discrimination; those are their orders."

Comments

[seymour]

thugs

and the Israeli government has no balls

shame on them

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Seymour, you are singing my oft said refrain: Israeli politicians have no balls no balls no balls no balls.

Anything to stay in office.

Ball-less whores.

[seymour]

Seymour, you are singing my oft said refrain: Israeli politicians have no balls no balls no balls no balls.

Anything to stay in office.

Ball-less whores.

Posted by: Office of the Chief Rabbi | May 18, 2011 at 09:25 PM

then the herdeim are the johns I guess

[Adam Neira]

At the moment a new election in the State of Israel would be completely inappropriate. Stability is required. The State of Israel must be a platform. Events of recent months in the region have been instructive. It is true that some groups in the Knesset are playing political brinksmanship. They are being clever with how the resources are being allocated.

Democracy ensures everyone is equal, so no one can give orders or criticise. A decent command structure breaks down. Perhaps the Holy Land needs a monarchy. It will not be an absolute monarchy and compromise decisions will still need to be made. Politics is the art of the possible.

[heshy]

Democracy means the majority rules. If you got the votes you got the power. Since religious Jews are increasing more than any other population they will have first choice in the rules of the state. Its only a matter of time and any smart secular politician knows it,so they will be generous with the chareidi populace.

[ah-pee-chorus]

in the schools of the Ashkenazi-run Hinuch Atzma'i network, which are "recognized but unofficial" schools, fully funded by the government.

as a child i collected money for chinuch atzmai as directed by my MO day school. i would hereby like to apologize to anyone who donated money to them through me. please forgive me, i was only a brainwashed child.

[Shmarya]

Democracy means the majority rules. If you got the votes you got the power. Since religious Jews are increasing more than any other population they will have first choice in the rules of the state. Its only a matter of time and any smart secular politician knows it,so they will be generous with the chareidi populace.

Posted by: heshy | May 18, 2011 at 11:00 PM

No.

Smart secular politicians will force haredim to work, to pay taxes and to serve in the army while at the same time drastically reducing yeshiva stipends.

We''l see how many haredim survive that.

[heshy]

Its basicly over. Chareidim are taking over so just join the chorus,THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD. See their new blogs called Chareidi empowerment organization.

[yoeli]

eat your hearts out you freier losers

[Jeff]

eat your hearts out you freier losers

Big man. Where would you be without the frei yidden for whom you have nothing but contempt? You'd all be starving in the desert.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

in a typical role reversal, the self described frumsters bring about:
ואנשי סדום רעים וחטאים לד' מאד
it is the 'freiers' that are the nice people.

[Jeff]

If you're relying upon the government for funding, you don't get to call the shots. They simply can't grasp this, as in their warped view of reality, the universe exists solely for their benefit. They truly believe our function is to support them while alive, then toddle off to hell for all of eternity. Like their Christian and Islamic counterparts (who are, at least and for the most part, financially self-sufficient), they are the worst people in the world.

I don't see how any person of conscience, even a Modern Orthodox person with strong religious feelings, can support Israel under these circumstances. I wouldn't send a dime to Israel until it begins to make a serious attempt to disenfranchise them.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

I wouldn't send a dime to Israel until it begins to make a serious attempt to disenfranchise them.

jeff, a normal person should send no dime anyway. their economy is better than ours, and if u have a dime to spare then עניי ביתך קודמים לעניי עירך
עניי עירך קודמים לעניי עיר אחרת

[Jeff]

Yosef, could you translate? My Hebrew is very poor (and, being a self-hating liberal Jew, I wasn't taught to read without the "vowels), and when I tried plugging it into a translator, this is what I got:

Past your house the poor of the poor in your city
poor of your city to another city poor previous

I assume you were trying to tell me that charity begins at home?

[justayid]

The break up of Avoda means the govt has what, a 7 seat majority? If it loses one of the haredi parties its totally dependent on Barak, and it is increasingly hard to reconcile baraks position with Lieberman's. So Bibi would be risking a new election. Which he doesnt want, cause Likud would almost certainly lose seats (IIUC).

"At the moment a new election in the State of Israel would be completely inappropriate. Stability is required."

No israeli govt has ever served out its five year term that I can recall - they ALWAYS end in a coalition crisis and a forced election (certainly since the 1970s at any rate). Stability is needed if the govt is getting something done. Bibi is treading water, trying to push things off. I may not agree hes a total disaster, but on Hasbara alone he makes things harder for Israel than Livni would.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

I assume you were trying to tell me that charity begins at home?

exactly, jeff.
the saying (from the mishna tractate 'sayings of the fathers') sez that 'the poor of your home, take precedence over the poor of your town and the poor of your town, over the poor of another town....'

[Jeff]

"sayings of the fathers" - Pirkei Avot. Yes, that I know! I'm just very bad with languages.