Deputy Knesset Speaker Eitan Ginzburg (Blue and White) spoke to Kikar Hashabbat about the incitement against the haredi community, emphasizing that they "are not responsible for the cost of living."
The full interview will be published Thursday evening, in Sogrim Shavua.
In it, Ginzburg said, "I am not blaming any sector, and certainly not with sweeping generalizations. There is importance in that in the haredi sector, that anyone who is not learning should go out and work. That seems to me to be important, and even a mitzvah (Torah commandment). The Draft Law which we passed allows haredim to go out to work from age 21 instead of 24, and that is part of our worldview."
However, he emphasized, "It's important that in the haredi sector, anyone who is not learning should go out to work."
When asked specifically by Kikar Hashabbat whether he would condemn Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman's (Yisrael Beytenu) statements blaming the haredim for the rise in the cost of living, Ginzburg said, "I do not blame haredi society in general. It is not responsible for the cost of living. The fact that some in haredi society which could go out to work, that might help the cost of living, but that is not the cause of the high cost of living. In the Arab sector there is the same thing. Absolutely."
Ginzburg also confirmed that he has spoken with the haredi MKs about the Draft Law.
When asked what he heard from them about the law, Ginzburg answered, "It's clear to everyone that this law does good for haredi society."
Regarding whether the haredi MKs themselves have told him that the Draft Law is a good thing, Ginzburg said, "I'll say it like this: The haredi MKs also know that this law in the end will do good for haredi society. They cannot say that out loud because there is importance in learning Torah, and I respect this story - but it's clear to them that this law is maybe the best that has happened to them in recent years, and that it serves haredi society."
When asked if he heard this from haredi MKs themselves, he said, "I think so, and I have a reasonable basis to say these things, that they also understand this."