Education Ministry Seeks Delay on After-School Subsidies for Draft Evaders
Despite a High Court ruling, the Ministry of Education seeks to delay cutting state after-school subsidies for ultra-Orthodox draft evaders until next year, clashing with the Finance Ministry.
Families of ultra-Orthodox individuals who have not regularized their military service continue to receive substantial state subsidies for after-school programs, despite a High Court of Justice ruling mandating the revocation of such financial benefits. According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, the Ministry of Education is seeking to postpone the cancellation of the 'Nitzanim' program subsidies until the next school year, placing it at odds with the Ministry of Finance and the legal advisory team.
The subsidy in question is a significant economic benefit, providing parents with hundreds of shekels per month per child, which can exceed 1,000 NIS monthly for a family with two eligible children. While the Ministry of Finance and legal authorities view the revocation as a crucial economic lever to encourage compliance with military drafts, the Ministry of Education argues that the move requires complex operational preparations that cannot be rushed.
Operational Hurdles and Disagreements
The Ministry of Education maintains that the management of after-school programs and child registration are handled by local authorities, and the ministry currently lacks the necessary administrative mechanism to identify the relevant families and strip them of the subsidies. Consequently, the punitive economic measures remain unimplemented, allowing eligible families to continue benefiting from state support.
The High Court Ruling and Ongoing Delays
This delay coincides with an expected update to the High Court by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara regarding the government's implementation of economic measures against draft evaders. In April, a five-justice panel ruled that the government was failing to enforce military service obligations and ordered the advancement of economic sanctions, including the review and cancellation of education, housing, property tax, and public transportation benefits.
'The Ministry of Education is not delaying the implementation of directives, but warned that after-school programs are managed by local authorities without a current operational mechanism to execute the task,' the ministry stated in response.
Roughly half a year after the judicial ruling, the gap between legal mandates and bureaucratic execution remains wide, highlighting the administrative challenges facing government ministries in enforcing sanctions.
