Ultra-Orthodox Institutions Sue Over Frozen Funds for Torah Scholars
Translated & summarized from JDN by baba
Ultra-Orthodox educational institutions have filed an urgent petition with Israel's High Court of Justice against the Ministries of Education and Finance over frozen budgets. The groups claim that funds allocated for Torah scholars have been withheld for over 18 months, leading to a significant reduction in monthly support payments. They are demanding the release of approximately NIS 1.269 billion annually and the restoration of support values, arguing that bureaucratic delays are unfairly penalizing students with regularized status.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Ultra-Orthodox institutions filed an urgent petition with the High Court of Justice against the Ministries of Education and Finance.
- The petition protests the freezing of over 1.269 billion shekels annually allocated for Torah scholars for more than 18 months.
- The value of support points for eligible Torah scholars has dropped significantly, from NIS 470 to a projected NIS 375.
- Monthly support for a full-time kollel member has been reduced from NIS 846 to approximately NIS 675.
- Petitioners argue that bureaucratic delays are causing severe harm and constitute collective punishment.
- They demand the immediate release of funds and restoration of support values, including retroactive payments.
A coalition of leading Torah institutions and the organization "Emet LeYaakov BeYisrael" have filed an urgent petition with the High Court of Justice (Bagatz) against the Ministries of Education and Finance, and the Attorney General. The petition protests what they describe as a continuous and arbitrary reduction in budgets for yeshivas and kollels. Central to the demand is the release of substantial funds that have been frozen for over 18 months, and a recalculation of the support value for Torah scholars whose status has been legally regularized.
According to the Ministry of Education's official support criteria, the value of a support point is calculated by dividing the total budget by the number of eligible students. Following previous High Court rulings, students who had not regularized their legal status were removed from the pool of eligible recipients. This reduction in the denominator, while the allocated budget remained constant, should have led to an increase in the support point's value. However, the petitioners claim that the opposite occurred: the value per point drastically dropped from NIS 470 in 2024 to NIS 400 in 2025 and is projected to fall to NIS 375 in 2026. Consequently, the monthly support for a full-time kollel member has been cut from NIS 846 to approximately NIS 675.
The petitioners argue that the government allocated specific budget frameworks for supporting Torah institutions, amounting to approximately NIS 1.269 billion annually for 2025 and 2026, beyond the basic budget. Despite this, the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General's office have delayed the release of these funds for over 18 months, citing an ongoing "legal and professional review" that has yet to conclude.
Represented by attorney Yehuda Abeles, the petitioners contend that while previous rulings excluded those without regularized status, they did not alter the rights of those whose eligibility is undisputed. They assert that the government ministries' delay inflicts severe harm on thousands of married students (avrechim), yeshiva students, and those in Hesder and Haredi programs who have acted lawfully and are either serving or regularizing their status. The petitioners also refute claims of potential budget leakage, pointing to existing strict financial controls and oversight by accountants within the Ministry of Education's systems.
The court is being asked to order the respondents to immediately complete their reviews, release all frozen funds, restore the support point value to its legal level, and pay the institutions all retroactive differences. A statement from Emet LeYaakov BeYisrael decried the bureaucratic "silent veto" and the collective punishment of Torah scholars, including those who have served in the IDF and their families, demanding an end to the administrative delay.