Israel – The housing cabinet led by Finance Minister Yair Lapid approved a new set of criteria for public housing on Monday, scaling back many provisions that primarily aided the ultra-Orthodox community.
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“We’re keeping our promises and fixing distortions that have been present for years,” Lapid said. “The distortions created advantages for those who did not serve in the army and those who don’t work.”
The cabinet canceled a provision that gave benefits to couples based on years of marriage, which had been helpful to the haredi couples, who tend to get married earlier on than the general population.
Housing advantages for large families were scaled back to match those of families with just three children.
Further, only those families that work full-time under existing housing definitions are to be eligible for long term leases or reduced purchasing prices.
“The new criteria for affordable housing put the working man in the center, but, at the same time, do not harm the haredi public or minorities, and encourage them to enter the labor force in a gradual and appropriate way,” said Housing Minister Uri Ariel.
The cabinet also decided to put public purchase law into effect on August 1, which would allow long-term residents of public housing to purchase their apartments at subsidized prices.
Water and Energy Minister Silvan Shalom, who carries the portfolio for developing the Negev and Galilee, urged the cabinet to approve additional steps to help the periphery at its upcoming July 23 meeting. Those steps include increased subsidies, setting objectives for marketing new apartments in the periphery, and building more rental housing in those areas.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Why am I not surprised. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This guy wants draconian cuts for anything frum. Neybach.
Rasha.
sounds fair to me
let’s hope us follows suit.
These changes are long overdue. Why should housing assistance be based on how long a couple has been married??? Such an absurd criteria creates an incentive for Chareidim to marry off their yinglach at even younger ages so the more quickly qualify for housing subsidies. The same with family size. Maybe give a small increment for the 4th or maybe even 5th child. But if you already have 5 children and cannot afford to pay the rent, don’t expect the other taxpayers to dig into their pockets so you can continue to make more babies. There has to be some individual responsibility within the confines of halacha and not simply rely on the taxpayers to pick up the tab.
Can anyone please explain why he is wrong, i think he is heading the right direction
It’s about time disabled Israelis who still go to work in wheelchairs are equal to non working Hasidim. Thank you for making the playing field even! It’s about time an Israeli family who only have 2 children because that is all they can afford, get the same benefits as a family with 16 kids with no one working to support these 16 kids!!
I don’t get the negative comments. All these draconian cuts are because the Israeli government is running out of money and does not want to end up like Greece !! For years and years, because of chareidi involvement in the government, they have gotten many, many benefits that the rest of the general population is not eligible for. From housing subsidies to reduction in Arnona taxes, to reduction in water & electric bills to childcare tax subsidies, etc., etc.
These cuts affect the Chareidim the most because of the size of their families which was the basis of all the subsidies. It is unfortunate, it is even scary, but it is not discriminatory, it is fair to the general population.
Stop screaming anti-semitism and anti-religion and start educating yourself about government economics !!
If Yissacher spits in the eye of Zevulun he really does not have much of a complaint when Zevulun cuts back on his benefits. So keep rallying and protesting Chareidim. It wasn’t as if folks in Brussels really had to worry about getting drafted.
You can’t get people to be dependent on a system and then yank the rug out from under them. It’s like driving someone into the desert and then refusing to drive then back. Mamash murder.
fellow charaidim go get a job like i do…mr lapid is not a rasha for managing israel’s economy…thats his job…lets call a spade a spade….imagine if charaidim were the only ones working while others didnt,,,imagine what you would say….so to all the nay sayers go get a job and work hard like we do here…..zeit mir gezunt…
Guess what HUD uses as it’s formula to determine sizes of housing subsidies……if you guessed family size, you win! Now imagine telling all those larger families living in subsidized housing in the US that they’re subsidy was going to be cut to match that of the 3-4 person family, and watch the riots begin.
Now all the liberal, anti-chareidi sheep’s heads can explode due to the cognitive dissonance
I have not been critical of Yapid as he seems to have a dignified trust in the way that Jews can indeed perform and function in a society; but in this case I think he is not going to be breaking apart the bonds of wickedness in so much as he is likely going to limit the feasibility of a society to progress in the home. They should do their best to provide true adequate housing even in light of the high birth rates and limitations in persona space.
Lion of Zion is right, as usual. Furthermore the Chareidi world’s concept of always living on the public dole has wrecked that community and caused a lot of resentment from everyone else, especially when, as Lion of Zion says, they continuously spit in the eye of their benefactors. There was a time when the Chareidi-garbed Jew was considered the standard for frumkeit and ehrlichkeit and even the gold standard for Torah Judaism. Those days are now gone and the Chareidim have only themselves to blame for this loss of status in the eyes of fellow Jews and everyone else as well.
These people are against the Medina, but want the taxpayers of the Medina to pay for their housing, and most everything else, as well as provide security. I am surprised that the Israeli public has tolerated this behavior for so long and I am supremely disappointed that the Chareidi leadership has encouraged this.
Yair Lapid is just applying policy that far-right politicians like Rand Paul, Ron Paul and Paul Ryan want to implement in the United States. Harming the poor is not going to make them go out and find good jobs, it will just cause the poor to suffer even more.
Long overdue, and a major step in the right direction. The only way to slow parasitic dependence is to wean the populace off of it.
I have been reading all the comments and I see a major disconnect. It is NOT about Torah is is about economics
There are no entitlements in this world. We earn what we need, and if we find a way to take advantage of government programs enjoy them while you can, BUT, when the system cannot sustain the huge financial drain of so many programs, you have no right to complain. You are NOT OWED government subsidies, you are allowed government subsidies. And when you are no longer allowed, then find another way to support your family.
I resent all the Frum Americans who do not work and use my tax dollars (which go up all the time) to support themselves. All these programs are supposed to be stop-gap measures, not permanent support. There are now states in the USA, that have time limits on government support. They will train you for a job, pay for childcare, BUT when the training is over, there is no more funding available to you forever !! I wish they would set up programs like that in NY & NJ. I am tired of paying for free rides, when I work hard, pay full tuition and pay ma-aser. My father always taught me, first pay your mortgage, then your tuition, and then eat !!
Using family size as a criteria is logical, but what’s the reasoning behind the provision that gave benefits to couples based on years of marriage?
Reductions is spending are necessary, but it it unfortunate that the frum will be severely impacted.
I have a problem with Lapid’s plan that has nothing to do with Haredim. Yidden are supposed to be rachmanim bnei rachmanim. Who cares which Yid needs help, a haredi or someone who has not yet come to Torah and mitzvos. I don’t see the various haredi charity organizations turning away non haredim. If the haredim need help Mr. Lapid, then help them. Don’t simply cut their arms off and walk away complaining that they don’t work..
the issue here is not if lapid is right or wrong. even if he is right the fact of the matter is; NOBODY has done as much in the last few decades (since the yossele affair) to divide and pit up yid against yid, and ignite the flames of hatred, like this rasha! by calling them parasites who don’t shoulder the burden (according to his opinion. but even if he isn’t wrong) the animosity that charedim feel today is all his horrible doing. AND his clear intention!! there is no gehenom big enough for this ocher yisroel, and his cronies!
The charedi parasites who have 7, 9, 12 or more children; not like the people who only have the number they could afford.I read it differently The so call responsible ones who only have what they can afford as rather what they care to afford; meaning giving only so much for children and the rest for the so call good life. Also I have not read once where this rasha is cutting from sports, theatre, arts, travel etc etc, only from the evil haredi.
what the “benevolent” lapid and co. so conveniently forgot is; that medinat yisroel was “built ENTIRELY from handouts by Billions of diaspora dollars (a huge chunk of it from frum yidden). they are getting handouts from Uncle Sam to the tune of Billions of dollars a year. by their own definition, the whole state is one big tremendous parasite, and has no right to exist! what a shamefaced hypocrite!