The petition filed by the Yesh Atid party on Tuesday against the transfer of approximately one billion shekels to Chareidi educational institutions was accepted by the Supreme Court, and Justice Yael Wilner announced an interim order freezing the transfer of the funds on Wednesday evening

Chairman of Degel HaTorah MK Moshe Gafni responded to the decision: “The Court has declared war on the Chareidi public and on Torah institutions. The Court requested a response within a few hours—something not customary even in court—and budgets that passed legally, according to accepted procedure and required approvals, were struck down with a stroke of the sword within half a day.”

“The judges’ convictions to harm the livelihood of teaching staff and the damage to the entire system will not be forgiven, nor will the wicked petitioners be forgiven. It turns out there is no democracy in the State of Israel, and the judges make decisions according to their own view and worldview, with no connection to the matters themselves or to the professional decisions made by the government and the Knesset. We will do everything to restore the situation to how it was.”

The Shas party responded to the High Court’s decision: “Antisemitic harassment. The Supreme Court is running wild like a reckless driver on a busy road, brutally and unprecedentedly trampling the Chareidi public—from stealing the daily bread of young children to harming Torah study and the education of tens of thousands of students.

“There are no judges in Jerusalem—only a dangerous group of pyromaniacs who, in their desperate struggle to save their crumbling rule, chose to take the Chareidi public hostage. We call on Jews around the world to raise a cry against this antisemitic harassment. The Chareidi public will stand firm like a fortified wall against these malicious decisions.”

MK Meir Porush responded: “Now it is absolutely clear—the judicial system is not concerned with security needs; it is at war against everything sacred. Lapid and the Supreme Court are trying to fight the holy education of Jewish children. No legal process will prevent us from passing on the mesoras Yisrael from generation to generation. Yesterday in the Selichos of Asara B’Teves, we said: ‘וַעֲדַת עָרִיצִים בִּקְשׁוּ נַפְשֵׁנוּ וְלֹא שָׂמוּךָ לְנֶגְדָּם.”

Likud MK Chanoch Milwidsky responded: “It is not surprising that a protégé of Justice Amit is freezing funds that were lawfully transferred to Chareidi institutions. The Court is grabbing more and more powers for itself. Unfortunately, for now, it is playing on an empty field. This will not stop until we decide to rise up against this judicial tyranny. We are already very late.”

Yair Lapid tweeted this evening on his X account: “I am pleased to report encouraging news from the Supreme Court—following the petition I filed on Tuesday together with MKs Vladimir Beliak, Naor Shiri, and Moshe Kinley Tor-Paz, it was decided to issue an interim order freezing the transfer of over 1,090,000,000 shekels that were transferred illegally to Chareidi institutions. We will continue to fight for the working and serving public.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)