Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf, who heads the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) list for the next Knesset, has said that his goal is for his party to receive the Finance Ministry after the elections.
In an interview with Kol Hai Radio, Goldknopf said, "I have an agreement with [Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe] Gafni that we will deal with the whole issue of haredi education, demanding that the haredi education budget be restored to what the law stipulates."
"I told [Likud chief MK Benjamin] Netanyahu that we do not wish to be 'poor and pitiful' but to receive what we deserve. He promised to make every effort."
Goldknopf added, "I did not say that I want to be Finance Minister, but that in accordance with our electoral strength, we deserve the Finance Ministry. The period during which we crawled on all fours in order to receive what we are entitled to has ended."
On Tuesday, Channel 13 News reported that the Likud party has promised to increase the budget for haredi yeshivas from NIS 1.2 billion to NIS 3 billion a year.
The Likud dismissed the report as false.