Thursday, May 11, 2006

Is UTJ finally in?

Today the six-member UTJ party has pretty much agreed to join the coalition government in return for a bill providing for a monthly grant to large families. According to the deal, UTJ would drop demands to receive NIS 3 billion (about USD 700 million) in funds that were cut in 2003 while the government will commit to allocating a monthly grant of NIS 500 (USD 113) to families with five children or more, in addition to the Social Security grant. According to Ynet UTJ MK Moshe Gafni has said "the compromise offer is reasonable, but we have not yet examined it closely and it has not been presented to the rabbis who are supposed to decide on the matter,”. The Rabbis deciding on this matter are R' Shteinman Shlita & The Gerrer Rebbe Shlita who are leaving Israel on a 10 day trip abroad.