Shinui is threatening to torpedo the economic plan bill in its second and third Knesset votes this week. Shinui claims Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu is about to cancel the NIS 260 million budget cut to religious institutions.
The Knesset Finance Committee approved the cut, as part of the NIS 6 billion budget cut, last month. Shinui chairman Minister of Justice Joseph Lapid announced his ultimatum at this morning’s cabinet meeting.
The crisis will be the main topic at Lapid’ meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at 8 pm tonight. Shinui’s opposition to the plan will reduce the coalition to 53 MKs, and lead to the plan’s failure in the Knesset.
Shinui director of state-religious affairs and Finance Committee member MK Ronny Brison told “Globes” that the party had learned that Netanyahu had not rejected out of hand pressure by the National Religious Party (NRP) and haredi (ultra orthodox) parties in the past two weeks to restore tens of millions of shekels in state support due to be eliminated.
Brison said the NRP is serving the interests of opposition haredi parties, since most of the funds in question were not designated for the NRP’s Yeshivot Hesder system. “It seems that at this rate there soon won’t be anything left of the NIS 260 million cut we approved in the Ministry of Religious Affairs budget,” he said.
NRP chairman Minister of Housing and Construction Effie Eitam said in response, “Hatred has driven Shinui insane.”
Opposition chairperson MK Dalia Itzik (Labor) said in response, “The Likud’s deals with Uzi Cohen and now with the NRP prove that only special interests motivate the Ministry of Finance.”
MK Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) today asked Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein to order Netanyahu to inform the Knesset tomorrow of all his promises made in exchange for canceling the tax breaks in the economic plan. Vilan said settlers in Judea, Samaria and Gaza had been promised grants to replace the cancelled tax breaks.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on May 25, 2003