The NGO Yisrael Hofsheet demanded in a letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara on Monday evening to investigate alleged attempts by haredi men who are required by law to enlist for IDF service to fraudulently bypass a sanction that will end state daycare subsidies.
According to a statement by Yisrael Hofsheet (Hebrew for “A Free Israel”) on Tuesday, the letter followed a Calcalist report revealing that, for the first time this year, subsidy applications were cross-checked with National Insurance Institute data.
This verification prevented the submission of falsified pay slips and reportedly caused significant pressure within the ultra-Orthodox community.
According to the statement, “The request details findings indicating that certain guidelines not only allow, but even encourage the submission of false subsidy applications by exploiting regulatory loopholes. Each fraudulent claim amounts to tens of thousands of shekels that individuals have attempted to unlawfully obtain from the state.”
“Furthermore, it highlights the severe harm this causes to the rule of law and the integrity of the public system, emphasizing the urgent need to enforce oversight measures to restore public trust,” the NGO wrote.
It concluded its statement by saying that it is “committed to monitoring developments and will demand an appropriate legal and public response to this issue.”
The request came amidst reports by Ynet and others that the Hassidic Agudat Yisrael party was encouraging constituents to ignore conscription orders.
Furthermore, some reports indicated that politicians were encouraging yeshiva students to open businesses on paper in order to continue being eligible for subsidized state care.
The subsidy is set to expire at the end of February for families in which the father is a yeshiva student who has ignored draft orders.
In the meantime on Tuesday, a group of extremist haredim protested against the draft in downtown Jerusalem. One of them held a sign saying, “To prison, not to the army.”
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