The municipal religious councils in Rehovot are now on strike, joining those of Bat Yam and Kiryat Gat. Some of the workers have even begun a hunger strike, as they have not been paid in nine months. "The source of the problem," says David Mashali, head of the national religious councils workers union, "is that the government closed down the Ministry of Religious Affairs, without making proper provisions for the religious council workers it paid." In addition, he said, the tremendous budget cuts of last year took their toll: "The government pays 40% of the religious councils' budget, and the municipalities provide the remaining 60%. But the government cut down its share by half - and the municipalities, which are in poor economic shape themselves, followed suit - leading to a situation where there is simply not enough to pay the salaries. Add to this the fact that no one is in charge: there is no Ministry of Religious Affairs, and even the religious councils themselves are, at present, officially disbanded in most locations."
Speaking with Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today, Mashali lamented the unique situation of the religious council workers: "In any other company or public body, workers who don't get paid simply walk off the job and strike until the matter is solved. But we can't do that. We provide unique services, such as burial and mikvaot [ritual baths], and our workers just can't allow themselves to walk off the job. The rabbis refuse to give permission to suspend burials, and the women who staff the mikvaot refuse to do something that would cause impossible family situations [the Jewish Laws of niddah bar conjugal relations during and after the wife's monthly menstrual period until she immerses in a mikvah - ed.]. The only thing we can do is to suspend the issuance of marriage licenses and kashrut certificates."
"People who have not been paid for months - how do they survive?" Meiri asked. Mashali responded, "It's a very critical matter. Some people take loans, and then take other loans to pay those back, or eat into their savings, or have to receive help from their parents and relatives. I know some people who can't pay their rent, and others who can't pay for medicines that they need. It's clearly an impossible situation."
Some of the striking workers demand that the Chief Rabbis take more of an activist stand on the issue. "It's not enough for them to have set up a protest tent before Passover," said strike leader Yehoshua Rauchberger of Rehovot, "and then that's the end of the story. They and the other religious representatives must take real action, and the religious public in general must understand the gravity of the situation, before it's too late."
Speaking with Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today, Mashali lamented the unique situation of the religious council workers: "In any other company or public body, workers who don't get paid simply walk off the job and strike until the matter is solved. But we can't do that. We provide unique services, such as burial and mikvaot [ritual baths], and our workers just can't allow themselves to walk off the job. The rabbis refuse to give permission to suspend burials, and the women who staff the mikvaot refuse to do something that would cause impossible family situations [the Jewish Laws of niddah bar conjugal relations during and after the wife's monthly menstrual period until she immerses in a mikvah - ed.]. The only thing we can do is to suspend the issuance of marriage licenses and kashrut certificates."
"People who have not been paid for months - how do they survive?" Meiri asked. Mashali responded, "It's a very critical matter. Some people take loans, and then take other loans to pay those back, or eat into their savings, or have to receive help from their parents and relatives. I know some people who can't pay their rent, and others who can't pay for medicines that they need. It's clearly an impossible situation."
Some of the striking workers demand that the Chief Rabbis take more of an activist stand on the issue. "It's not enough for them to have set up a protest tent before Passover," said strike leader Yehoshua Rauchberger of Rehovot, "and then that's the end of the story. They and the other religious representatives must take real action, and the religious public in general must understand the gravity of the situation, before it's too late."