Sport and Culture Minister Limor Livnat on Tuesday called on the Defense Ministry to transfer its share of funds to the pre-military academies, at it is obligated to do under a law she sponsored in 2008. Livni said that "the refusal of the Defense Ministry to honor its obligations hurts the best youth in the country, who are prepared to serve and contribute to the state, and returns the academies to their lowest point."
Livnat said that the academies, largely attended by national religious youth, had been saved by her bill. "In 2008, the academies received only NIS 12 million, and this year they received NIS 38 million," she said.