At center of Supreme Court hearings: Haredim • "benefits prevent yeshiva students from working"

Today the Supreme Court held a final and decisive hearing in the petition to cancel the allowances for avreichim and yeshiva students, filed two years ago.

The petition was filed by Hiddush organization for religious freedom and equality, the Student Union, the movement Ometz, Israel Religious Action Center of the Reform movement, the Loyalists of Torah Va'avodah, and "Free Israel" movement.

The hearing was held today at the Supreme Court, judges panel included the President Asher Grunis, Vice President Miriam Naor and Judge Edna Arbel.

The petitioners requested the termination of the income maintenance benefits received by more than 10,000 yeshiva students from the state, arguing that it is contrary to the judgment of the High Court in June 2010 and is discriminatory against students and other populations.

The allowances are granted since the beginning of the 80's to yeshiva students, when they and their wives do not work and they are fathers of three children or more. The monthly allowance is approximately NIS 1,000 and its costs to the state are estimated at 135 million dollars a year.

Uri Reshtik, vice chairman of the National Student Association, said: "We hope that a long struggle we are fighting not only for the benefit of students, but for society as a whole, will come to an end. Israel needs to nurture the young and productive public in the country."

However the state argued that the decision was a "lever for social - cultural change aimed to increase the integration of needy Yeshiva students in the labor market."

Justice Miriam Naor criticized the words and asked: "How does the fact that one gives a person money, bring his integration into the labor market closer? It is logical that if you do not give him money, he will have to work." Following the discussion, the judges considered to transfer the case to an expanded panel.

Attorney Orly Erez Lekhovski, representing the petitioners along with Attorney Gilad Barnea, told the hearing that the government's decision to continue paying the benefit "overrides the judgment of this honorable court and makes a mockery out of it."

The representative of the State, Attorney Hani Ofek, said that one should combine the file with the petitions that are against the exemption of Hareidim from military service because these are "similar processes" of economic integration of Hareidim. The petitioners oppose the move.

Another petition to recruit Yeshiva students is underway in the High Court. The petition was filed by the Movement for Quality of Government and Attorney Yehuda Ressler on recruiting haredim into the IDF.

In its response to the petition, the State clarified that the immediate mobilization of all yeshivas is impossible but all yeshiva students would be mobilized gradually.

A table was attached to State's response that the IDF is planning to recruit thousands of Hareidim starting next year. While initially 6,670 will be recruited, and in 2015 the number will be 8,000.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!