The chairman of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), MK Moshe Gafni, protested yesterday in the Knesset Finance Committee what he called the "dispossession" of exempt haredi institutions from the budget allocated to the unofficial but recognized institutions of the haredi community and Arabs.
In his remarks, he claimed that there was still a rift between the haredi sector and Arab public. "I say here in an unambiguous way - today a rift was formed between the haredi public and the Arab public in the State of Israel. Mansour Abbas's apology in the Knesset plenum was not accepted."
Gafni said that when he served as chairman of the committee, he refused to discriminate against the Arab sector.
“I sat on the chair of the Finance Committee for many years. I could have done what you are doing now, but I never thought not to transfer an education budget to the Arab sector as well.
"A transfer now of only NIS 53 million to the unofficial but recognized institutions, and not the entire 84 million to the exempt institutions as well, which is the bread and milk of these children, is a forbidden deed and will not be forgiven."