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Education Minister Yuli Tamir. (Tess Scheflan/Jini)
Last update - 11:27 03/01/2008
Tamir asks court to delay ruling on Haredi schools' curriculum
By Or Kashti, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Yuli Tamir, Haredi 

Education Minister Yuli Tamir wants the High Court of Justice to approve a one-year postponement on a ruling that stops the ministry from funding ultra-Orthodox schools that do not teach core-curriculum subjects. Tamir faces opposition from Haredi school administrators, as well as politicians from Shas and United Torah Judaism.

In December 2004 the Supreme Court ruled that Haredi schools that do not teach the core curriculum could not continue to be publicly funded. The ruling was supposed to take effect from the start of the current school year.

A few days earlier, Tamir announced a proposal to exempt "small yeshivas" of 24,000 pupils from the core-curriculum obligation for two years. During this time they would change their status from "recognized unofficial education," which entitles them to 75 percent funding, to "exempt," which gives them 55 percent funding.
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Tamir also proposed making every child in Israel eligible for 12 years of school, even after age 18. That would enable a pupil who has dropped out of the regular school system, or who has attended a Haredi institution that teaches the core curriculum only partially, to complete his studies by age 30.

Tamir's plan was intended to provide a response to a petition filed several months ago by the Israel Religious Action Center and Secondary School Teachers Association, seeking to compel the Education Ministry to implement the previous court ruling. Under an interim ruling on that petition, the "small yeshivas" will be funded at a rate of 55 percent until January 1.

In the state's latest reply, submitted about a week ago, Tamir wrote: "After talks between the leadership of the Haredi public and myself ... I decided with a heavy heart to accede to the request by the leadership of the Haredi public and postpone the plan's implementation."

Tamir goes on to ask the court to approve her request to maintain the small yeshivas' status of unofficial recognized institutions until the end of this school year, with their commensurate funding.

Shas and UTJ applied to join as respondents to the petition recently before the court. In their application, Minister Eli Yishai and MKs Yaakov Litzman and Moshe Gafni argued that it is unfair to reduce government support for small yeshivas at midyear. Advance warning is called for when changing a policy that has been in place for 60 years, they insisted to the court.

Lawyers for the petitioners countered that Tamir is proposing that an unlawful situation be sanctioned by the High Court.

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      1.   Why Fund Schools that Don`t Teach? 09:04  |  B`Galil 30/12/07
      2.   Is this the same "core curriculum" that is famous ... 09:38  |  Jew 30/12/07
      3.   It`s questionable what "function in society" means 09:43  |  HH 30/12/07
      4.   re: B`Galil 10:09  |  Efox 30/12/07
      5.   subjects taught 10:13  |  chuck 30/12/07
      6.   Haaretz anti-Jewish vultures would love if funding denied 11:04  |  Velvel 30/12/07
      7.   Let them pay 12:00  |  David 30/12/07
      8.   Enough is enough! 12:17  |  Puhi 30/12/07
      9.   Shame on Tamir 13:17  |  MB 30/12/07
      10.   Three years of grace to implement law unacceptable 13:21  |  H.H.M 30/12/07
      11.   to Velvel 13:55  |  the Pope 30/12/07
      12.   To all those suggesting haredim pay 15:13  |  hk 30/12/07
      13.   To hk - 15:49  |  David 30/12/07
      14.   to hk 15:49  |  Puhi 30/12/07
      15.   "Small Yeshivas" 16:04  |  Jay A Friedman 30/12/07
      16.   Teaching Core Curriculum Means... 17:03  |  B`Galil 30/12/07
      17.   Funding Haredi schools 17:36  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/12/07
      18.   why should religious bums pay? 17:40  |  proud joooo 30/12/07
      19.   Balanced #16 18:03  |  Chuck 30/12/07
      20.   Balance and Core 18:15  |  Chuck 30/12/07
      21.   The greatest rabbis throughout our history... 18:25  |  gb 30/12/07
      22.   Freedom for some 19:56  |  Yechiel 30/12/07
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      26.   Yehiel - how does a secular education "teach" violence? 23:07  |  B`Galil 30/12/07
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      28.   To Sharon 03:00  |  Yechiel 31/12/07
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      34.   Chuck 19:19  |  Sharon 31/12/07
      35.   #30 19:24  |  Sharon 31/12/07
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      40.   Jewish core values, 2 23:47  |  Sharon 31/12/07
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      44.   To Sharon - I Invite you to make Aliyah - PLEASE! 01:13  |  B`Galil 01/01/08
      45.   Meanwhile Secular Schools have No Curriculum 06:10  |  Efox 01/01/08
      46.   re: Yechiel 06:15  |  Efox 01/01/08
      47.   #43 B`Galil 15:00  |  Attila the Hun ? 01/01/08
      48.   Efox - Global warming whining??? 16:20  |  B`Galil 01/01/08
      49.   The problems with secular subjects 18:37  |  Yechiel 01/01/08
      50.   #49 Yechiel 00:21  |  Chuck 02/01/08
      51.   Yechiel 00:31  |  Chuck 02/01/08
      52.   "Secular" subjects 01:00  |  Sharon 02/01/08
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