Fourteen ministers voted in favor, eight were against and three abstained.
The Israeli cabinet today approved the continuation of stipends to haredi (ultra-orthodox) yeshiva students, for at least five more years. The move came even though the High Court of Justice ruled that the stipends are illegal because they are discriminatory against university and college students.
For a while, it had seemed that the stipends might not be approved by the cabinet after Shas announced that it would abstain from the vote. But in the end some of the Shas minister voted for the stipends and the cabinet approved them with 14 minister in favor, eight against and three abstaining.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 19, 2010
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