Yishai: Assurance of income for university students with children
Shas minister's proposal aimed at getting student union to abandon struggle against yeshiva student bill; students tell him battle not against religion or religious population
Interior Minister Eli Yishai presents new initiative which may increase number of students who enjoy yeshiva students' bill: Shas Chairman Eli Yishai suggests that the state give each student raising one child or more an assured income – like that received by yeshiva students with three children.
According to the minister, he made the suggestion when he met with representatives of the student union on Thursday in the hopes that they would abandon their struggle against the yeshiva students' bill.
Meanwhile, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to discuss possible solutions to the crisis caused by the bill.
Sources in the Shas party said that they understand that criteria comparisons between the university students and yeshiva students would make for an unequal law and so it is "necessary to adapt the law to their character." They hope that the two sectors will be satisfied and end their battle over government support.
The sources also noted that the meeting between Yishai and the students was held in good spirits and that the students clarified that their battle was not against religion, the religious population, the Torah or its scholars and that they simply sought legislative equality.
On Wednesday, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar met with the students' representatives and stated that the yeshiva students' bill must be changed so that it offers equal financial support to students in the academia.
That said, the rabbi never discussed methods of implementing equality or the question of whether offering financial support to students with three children, as is the case with yeshiva students, would be considered an equal exchange.
The Chief Rabbinate noted that the meeting was positive and that both sides spoke at length on the issues of respect for the Torah. The student union also expressed satisfaction over the warm meeting and noted that during the meeting, the rabbi agreed with their demands for equality and the need for haredim to become an integrative part of the Israeli workforce.
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