MK Meir Porush spoke on Tuesday in the Knesset plenum, marking the special day for children’s rights—and attacked the violation of the rights of Chareidi children.

“We gathered here today to mark Children’s Rights Day,” Porush said. “The question arises: why is there a need for a special day to mark children’s rights? In my opinion, there is nothing in the world more consensual than children’s rights. Who doesn’t love children? As a father of 12 children, bli ayin hara, I truly wonder why such a day is needed. It seems to me that children’s rights should be self-evident. A child in the home brings light to the home. But it turns out that sometimes even things that are self-evident are not understood by everyone, and sometimes one must fight even for things that should be self-evident in a civilized country.”

“Upon my return to serve as a Knesset member four months ago, I submitted a bill for free education from age zero. This was an election promise, and not only in the last elections, of many politicians from many parties, and although it is so necessary and so consensual, unfortunately they don’t support it now and we’re required to fight for this also.

“This is such a basic matter—not to abandon children aged zero to three to unsupervised daycare centers or family daycares without any regulations or safety guidelines. It is inconceivable that precisely our youngest children do not receive proper care. I very much hope that when the bill comes here to the plenum, it will receive wall-to-wall support. This should be self-evident.”

“In the past year children’s rights were trampled, and they became a plaything in the hands of those who are supposed to be judicial officials and in practice serve as politicians in their war against the Olam HaTorah.

“Attorney Baharav-Miara, who is called the government’s legal adviser, personally declared a war against the Olam HaTorah, against bnei yeshivos and avreichim.  An improper and illegitimate struggle in my eyes, for a state under Jewish rule. But within this improper struggle, a red line was crossed, when they decided to use children, babies, as a cruel toy in the campaign of persecution against young avreichim who seek to learn Torah and whose wives seek to support the family with dignity.

“When Yair Golan said that ‘a sane state doesn’t kill children as a hobby,’ I allowed myself, and I hope he won’t sue me for copyright, to borrow that statement, and to say that ‘a sane Attorney General doesn’t starve Chareidi children as a hobby.’ Meanwhile, this is the situation. They starve little children because their father learns Torah. Tell me, have you gone mad?”

“My friend MK Rabbi Yisrael Eichler will soon bring to a vote a bill that seeks to put an end to this cruel conduct that causes families to struggle to put food on the table. I call from here, on this special day marking children’s rights, on all Knesset members to support this bill. This is not a political bill, this is not a Chareidi bill, this is a bill that says the necessary and self-evident thing—a child is a child.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)