Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman said Wednesday that he has ordered an inquiry into the high salaries given to heads of the Hiddush organization. There is no prohibition on high salaries for NGO heads, he said, but the particularly high salaries in this case raise concerns of abuse of the group’s “NGO" status.
Nearly the entire budget of the organization, which promotes “religious freedom and equality,” went in recent years to pay the salaries of two founders. Neeman said the organization had never requested verification that its management had met ethical standards – a necessary step for groups seeking state funding or tax benefits for donors.