As concerns mount over the future of charitable giving to yeshivos, Keren Olam HaTorah is quietly advancing a new strategy designed to preserve financial support for Torah institutions despite the growing controversy surrounding Section 46 tax benefits.

The fund, which has played a key role in helping yeshivos and kollelim offset severe budget cuts resulting from the ongoing battle over the draft law, is now working to ensure that support for Torah institutions continues even as legal and regulatory challenges threaten a major source of donations.

Tax Benefit Freeze Sparks Concern

The current crisis began at the end of May, when Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered an immediate halt to tax credits for donations made to chareidi institutions that include students classified as eligible for military service.

The decision sent shockwaves through the yeshiva world, where many institutions feared a substantial decline in donations tied to the tax incentives provided under Section 46 of Israeli law.

A New Framework Emerges

Now, for the first time, details are emerging about a framework being developed by Keren Olam HaTorah to help prevent disruptions to the flow of charitable contributions.

According to a letter sent to roshei yeshiva and institutional leaders, and obtained by Kikar HaShabbos, the fund consulted extensively with accountants and professionals specializing in nonprofit organizations and tax law before formulating its approach.

The letter explains that institutions which, based on individualized legal advice, choose not to include certain students on reports submitted to government authorities will not lose their eligibility for support from the fund.

Funding Will Continue

According to the letter, even an institution that elects to continue omitting such students from its official enrollment reports will remain eligible for assistance from Keren Olam HaTorah.

The fund indicated that it would explore alternative mechanisms for transferring support to those institutions, ensuring that funding can continue despite the evolving legal landscape.

At the same time, the organization stressed that it is not instructing institutions to adopt any specific course of action.

Providing Options, Not Directives

Fund officials emphasized that the initiative should not be viewed as a recommendation or directive. Rather, they described it as an effort to provide institutions with practical tools to navigate the complex legal realities that have emerged following the attorney general’s decision.

The move comes amid significant disagreement among legal advisers and accountants serving chareidi institutions, many of whom have offered differing opinions regarding how best to respond to the new restrictions.

As uncertainty continues to surround the future of donation-related tax benefits, Keren Olam HaTorah’s proposal represents the first major attempt to establish a broad-based solution aimed at protecting financial support for the yeshiva world.

{Matzav.com}