The reservists' protest outside the buildings of the Ecclesiastical Forum in Jerusalem, March 9, 2023 (Brothers of Arms reservists' protest)
The Ecclesiastical Forum warned the government against implementing the first phase of a free education program up to the age of three, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election promises.
As part of the first phase, which has already entered as part of the two-year budget approved a few weeks ago, the government will promote free education from the age of two to three.
The move, which is intended to benefit the young families in Israel and take the burden of preschool education off the parents - is considered revolutionary and may significantly help hundreds of thousands of young families in Israel.
However, in the right-wing forum associated with the legal revolution, they claim in a position paper they published yesterday that there is another side to this move, which creates economic dependence on the reform, especially among populations with families with many children, including the ultra-Orthodox community.
In the position paper, they explain that the reform will "harm women's employment in Israel by encouraging them to stay at home" and claim that the new move will encourage non-employment among ultra-Orthodox fathers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, cabinet meeting, March 12, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)
In a move that may be frowned upon by religious officials in the government, the congregation proposes to condition the receipt of the subsidy on the employment of the parents, at least 24 hours per week (over half a job in the economy).
This is not a new opinion of the forum, when already in 2021 it published a special 116-page review on the subject that included opposition to any type of universal subsidy (which is not conditional on working parents): "The current subsidy model promotes non-employment of ultra-Orthodox men when it recognizes the father's sitting hours about study hours".
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Benjamin Netanyahu
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