Comments on: Shas Wants a Man in the Treasury

By: tirtza

tirtza — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 14:15:56 +0000

#5, Yeah you’re right,let them start paying 18% tax on FOOD!
I can easily afford it now but back when I had 8 children living at home, food was a major part of our budget.
We, also, looked forward to the woman’s Bituach Leumi child allowance that helped a lot on a tight budget.(It is the same thing as a child exemption in the States.)
And we were in a tax bracket that only let us bring home 50% of what we earned, with my husband employed in a state funded educational/research institution. Imagine how it is for others with less.
When we first moved there and had “only” 6 children, my husband brought home less money than the type of constituent that would vote for Lapid, an unmarried graduate student, he did not pay any taxes.
Yet, ad nauseam, we hear that students of Torah(same as graduate students, except that their learning helps to protect us all) are “using other peoples’ money.”
Well, there are lots of people doing that and not just hareidim and I’m sick of people complaining about hareidim. They have, for a long time, gotten by with less.
I’m no great fan of Deri and Shas but the plan to get rid of tax on basic items(mainly food) should be on every Jew’s agenda, it’s not fair.

As far as the ministries, I wish they’d just give in.
If religion was so important to Bayit Yehudi they would have gotten the support of all the National Religious, they and Shas have almost equal numbers of seats, let them share the Religious Ministry.

By: american_yerushalmi

american_yerushalmi — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 05:15:42 +0000

The implications and innuendos being expressed here and in some other articles regarding Shas’ reliability as a coalition partner are borderline anti-Semitism. This is a party that is directed by gedolei Torah, and this incessant dredging up of what a secular court thinks Aryeh Deri did or did not do 20 something years ago is frankly obscene. As to whateva’s remark about Lapid’s plan to get Hareidim out of poverty, yes, the plan was, as much as possible, to get them out of being chareidi altogether. Are you endorsing that? And what’s this rubbish about Deri “using other people’s money?” As if observant Jews are not entitled to benefit from the public coffers like any other Israeli citizen? I invite all the clever talkbackers residing in the U.S. and elsewhere to move here and see what it’s like paying 18% sales tax on everything (VAT is the equivalent of sales tax). We are talking about people who might be taking home $1500 a month or less. Do I need to start explaining to you all what kind of salaries people receive over here? Everyone knows that Israel is lowball city in that department. And one final word about “given his (Deri’s) history . . . .” For once and for all stop repeating this anti-Semitic drivel about what he did 20 years ago. The court accussed him of accepting “favors” (money) from various contractors & businessmen in exchange for “helping them out.” I’m not condoning this, but he did NOT (even according to the court) put any public money in his pocket. I’m not a Shas voter or even Sefardi. But sheesh, people, how about a little intellectual honesty? Deri’s zero-VAT plan would benefit ALL Israelis, not just chareidim.

By: Smarter than you

Smarter than you — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 02:54:56 +0000

Every article about Shas and subsequent comments, are just dripping with venom about Deri’s earntwhile efforts to help the block of consituents that he campaigned for. It seems that this writer has something in it for Shas. Can’t figure out why. Strong negotiating skills are a good thing, if your fighting for what is right, like Deri is.

By: zionflag

zionflag — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 02:27:17 +0000

& who wouldn’t want a pie of the pie??

By: whateva

whateva — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 21:52:26 +0000

Yair Lapid also had a plan to get Hareidim out of poverty. But Deri prefers to do so using other people’s money. Interesting, given his history.

By: jayfried46@aol.com

jayfried46@aol.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 21:26:22 +0000

Putting the fox in the henhouse.