MK Michael Malkieli defended the inclusion of religious service funding in the state budget, calling it a historic achievement and rejecting criticism directed at allocations for the chareidi community.

Speaking Tuesday morning on Kol Chai radio, Malkieli addressed the recurring debate over funding typically labeled as coalition money. “One of the things that is truly surprising is that every budget year, again, there is this issue that the funds for the chareidi public are not in the base,” he said. He explained that the goal of incorporating these funds into the core budget is to end the repeated disputes and recognize chareidim as equal citizens. “What we are entitled to, whether it is education or religious budgets, should be part of the base of the State of Israel.”

Malkieli expressed frustration over the public and media discourse surrounding the issue, arguing that many critics lack a basic understanding of the facts. “I ask them, does anyone have any idea what money we are talking about? Yes, jobs, Shas, distribution — absolutely not. This is education, this is children, these are kindergarten teachers,” he said. He criticized what he described as “such shallow media discourse” and said that chareidi representatives are primarily focused on “trying to save from the lion and the bear” in the face of opposition from political rivals and the press.

During the interview, Malkieli highlighted what he described as a major shift in how religious services are funded. “Since the establishment of the state, every budget for religious services — building mikvaos, shuls, eruvin — was never part of the base,” he said. He called the move to include construction budgets in the core allocation “an unprecedented achievement.” He added that progress is also being made on regulating salaries for rabbanim in moshavim and regional councils, which he said would significantly strengthen religious services nationwide.

Turning to the contentious draft law, Malkieli insisted that the delays are not due to political hesitation. “The difficulties today are not political difficulties in the draft law. The difficulties are legal difficulties and feasibility with respect to the High Court,” he said. He stressed that if the issue were political — whether due to lack of will or fear of media backlash — the coalition would not remain intact. “If the problem is Netanyahu or there is no majority in the government, we will not be there — it simply will not exist.”

Concluding the interview, Malkieli expressed hope that work on the draft legislation would continue despite the parliamentary recess, with the aim of reaching an agreement acceptable to Torah leadership. He noted that the state has informed the High Court that it has not abandoned efforts to pass a consensual law. “I very much hope that at the beginning of the next session we will advance this,” he said, adding a message ahead of the upcoming Yom Tov: “In Nissan we are destined to be redeemed, with Hashem’s help — that is what we need to pray for.”

{Matzav.com}