News Brief10:00 AM

(IsraelNN.com) Education Minister Yuli Tamir (Labor) has cancelled all school positions filled by more than 3,000 National Service religious girls. She said the move was made as a budget cut, but Knesset Member Effie Eitam (National Union) charged that the Education Minister, identified with the left and Peace Now, ordered the cut because of political motives. She previously has sliced the budget for pre-army academies (Mechinot) and religious high schools.

The HaTzofeh-Makkor Rishon newspaper reported that a religious girls' high school discovered the cancellation when it asked the Education Ministry how many school positions would be available next year. The ministry replied, "There will be no National Service in the educational system next year."

Most of the girls work in secular systems as part of their National Service duty. Yaron Lutz, deputy director of the National Service volunteer organization, said he does not understand Minister Tamir's economics. "Without the girls in National Service, the school system will have to pay high salaries for workers to replace them," he said.