Finance Minister: Yeshiva students eat sandwiches, talk politics

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on Wednesday praised Israeli security forces for their management of the Jerusalem Day Flag Parade, which celebrated 55 years since Israel took Jerusalem from Jordan.

At the start of his party's weekly meeting, Liberman said, "I want to praise the security forces for their management yesterday of the Flag Parade."

Regarding his intention to cut the budget for haredi yeshivas, Liberman said, "You cannot work against the coalition and still receive money from the coalition. This is not holy studies, it is studies of idleness."

"Most of the money goes to kollels (yeshivas for married men), where people learn from age 29 until pension," he claimed. "They come in the morning and eat a sandwich, drink coffee, talk politics, and then open a few books. There is no reason to fund them."

About teachers' salaries, he said, "The gap between experienced teachers and new [teachers] in Israel is one of the highest that exists. We need to raise pay for experienced [teachers] as well, but mostly for new [teachers]. And more than that: It is unthinkable that their pay should be based only on experience, and not on abilities and achievements."