This became a big deal because it was seen to be hurting the yeshiva industry in something that is a relatively minor budget item that has a major effect - many of the yeshiva students end up staying in Israel long-term, eventually making aliyah, and even those who do not generate a lot of tourism money - they bring foreign currency, rent apartments, buy food, tour, have parents come to visit and spend money here, etc.
While it might not be so crucial for most yeshivot, as it is really a small amount of money per student, for some yeshivot, and the Mir Yeshiva is mentioned as a prime example, it is a lot of money just because of the number of students affected.
So Yesh Atid and Yair Lapid have agreed to cancel the budget cut! That is good news. Anyways it is a small amount of money, and it does a lot for bringing foreign currency into Israel and promotes aliyah.
But Yesh Atid says we are not there just yet. They are agreeing to cancel the budget cut, but that cancellation is dependent on some conditions. Yeshivot qualifying for these monies would be obligated to teach a detailed course in Zionism and civics, that would also include visits to army bases (I saw somewhere that Haredi yeshivot would visit the Nahal Haredi bases), heritage sites, and participate in conferences on various topics of Zionism.
So, we may soon be seeing Zionism 101 as part of the curriculum in yeshivas like the Mir, and their presence on army bases might become fairly common... or maybe they will prefer to forgo the money rather than be forced to teach Zionism..
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