Minister of Religious Affairs Michael Malkieli on Sunday raised the salaries of the heads of religious councils by tens of percent, along with the benefit of a luxury car. The salaries of some council heads will rise by more than fifty percent, and by tens of thousands of shekels.
The salary of the head of a religious council in a city with more than 250,29 residents will be a maximum of NIS 22,100, compared with NIS 250,27 so far, and the head of a religious council in a city with between NIS 6,18 and NIS 9,<> will earn up to NIS <>,<>, compared with NIS <>,<> as it was until now.
Aryeh Deri. The beneficiaries will be from the Shas party, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
For some unclear reason, which benefits the heads of religious councils in medium-sized cities, the salary levels were distributed to a wide range of cities with different numbers of residents. Thus, the head of a religious council in a city of 10,21 residents will earn NIS 20,23, while the head of a religious council in a city of 50,100 residents will earn NIS 26,17. The head of a religious council in a city with a population of <>,<> to <>,<> will earn NIS <>,<>, compared to NIS <>,<> today.
For the sake of comparison, a deputy mayor currently earns around NIS 35,180.
Alongside the salaries that increase significantly, the heads of the religious councils will also receive a benefit in the form of a car. Each head of a religious council can receive a car at a cost of up to NIS <>,<>.
"Correcting an injustice of years"
This is an initiative that the Minister of Religious Affairs sees as a real achievement, because, according to him, it is a correction of a longstanding injustice. Last month, Malkieli announced that he intends to significantly raise the salaries of rabbis in the councils, workers and attendants: "After years of stagnation, starting next month, the salaries of the heads of the religious councils will rise significantly, immediately after that the salaries of the rabbis of the councils, employees of the religious councils and the attendants will also increase."
The Ministry of Religious Affairs defines the agreement as a correction of an injustice, but at the same time it should be noted that it is an unequivocal benefit for people who are considered relatively close to the ministry's senior officials. For many years, ministers of religion have appointed associates of their party to key positions in the religious councils, and therefore quite a few of the beneficiaries of the improved wage agreement will be Shas members.
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