Under Pressure, Liberman Postpones Cancellation Of Day Care Subsidies

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 07/14/21 | News Source: Vosizneias.com

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economic Affairs Minister Orna Barbivai announced Wednesday that the cancellation of day care subsidies for kollel students will be postponed for a few months. The new regulation was supposed to take effect in September but in the wake of the public outcry over the move, Liberman agreed to delay until November, with some officials claiming that it will be postponed even further.

Liberman did not specify that he was backing down due to public pressure, choosing instead to state together with Barbivai that “we have decided to give another two months so that the educational system, employment market and families can prepare themselves for the change in criteria for entitlement to day care subsidies.”

The announcement came a short time after Liberman’s former colleague in Yisrael Beitenu, Faina Kirshenbaum, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the heaviest sentence ever for a public figure accused of financial crime. Kirshenbaum was accused of bribery and corruption , receiving 2 million shekels in bribes while serving in various government positions from 2006 until 2014.

MK Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) responded by saying that “Liberman and Barbivai’s decision does not make the move any more justified. This is a cruel and wicked step designed to harm and ruin the chareidi families and those who study Torah. The reform government of Bennett-Liberman-Lapid is cruel to chareidim and harms Jewish tradition.”