Critique of Education and Culture Funding

What I'd most like to shut down

is the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Anti-Education, the Ministry of Ignorance, the Ministry of Corruption,

the Ministry of Progressivism, I can call it any name but Education.

You just get into government now, what would you cut with a saw?

Two-thirds of the ministries.

The Ministry of Culture.

You crack me up.

Cut it?

It doesn't exist.

It doesn't exist?

It doesn't exist.

Support for culture.

It doesn't exist.

Films, plays, art.

The state shouldn't intervene in that?

No.

Why not?

You want to, you want to? You have a film that's very important to you.

Okay, find a way, or make it commercial and let it fund itself,

or find philanthropists for whom it's important enough. Look.

The national theater, Habima, the Cameri.

Nothing. Not even,

The state shouldn't intervene in culture. The state shouldn't intervene in studies,

not Torah studies, by the way, nor the humanities

at universities.

It should support yeshivas.

No.

No?

No. And do you know why? First of all, not for Torah.

So that Torah will be independent.

So you—

There are yeshivas, there are yeshivas.

You're fascinating because on the one hand, you say provocatively that

this is how it will be perceived, to close the Ministry of Culture, not support the arts,

not support anything. Whoever wants to, should do it. Whoever doesn't, if they're good, will succeed.

On the other hand, you also say not to support yeshivas, not scholars of Torah.

That's not the state's role.

You know, in America, there are no small number of Torah scholars.

There is no support whatsoever from Americans,

from the American government. Okay, nothing.

Who is like Your people, Israel? Believe me, there will be much more Torah

and Torah that doesn't depend on the government apparatus. There will be genuine Torah that isn't dependent.

You know that it doesn't have some kind of

agenda. And today it's much simpler than it used to be. You know why?

Well?

Because today there is a great deal of money in Israel,

both the right wing and the religious have a great deal of money.

It will only benefit Torah study if it is free

from the government apparatus.

So beyond the government apparatus, how much...

I understand that's true. Why do I need to fund

the pagan ideological yeshiva

that's called the Department of Gender Studies at Tel Aviv University?

Tell me why. Why should I fund

theaters when 90 percent of what's shown there

contradicts my worldview? Why?

Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva.

On the other hand, someone who says they don't want to fund Torah studies

shouldn't fund them.

Why are you mixing in my taxes and deciding who gets what?

Let the people of Israel flourish culturally, flourish in Torah on their own.

Which ministries would you eliminate? Close?

Culture.

Too bad I didn't bring the platform, I'd immediately give you all the—

Culture.

Environmental Protection.

Nothing.

Agriculture.

Nothing.

Health.

Keep it.

Keep it. Keep Defense.

Keep it.

Economy.

Eliminate it. You have, you have, you have the Finance Ministry. What's the Economy Ministry? It's nothing.

You know, most government ministries, government ministries are inventions

intended to bring in more ministers over the years.

Do you know how many ministers there were in Ben-Gurion's time?

Nine, something like that.

Eight.

Eight.

And what can we do? We're talking about 11.

Okay, you need a third of the Knesset to be in the government.

Where has such a thing ever been heard of? Then, when the government is bloated, you start creating

a government within

a government.

And deputy ministers.

Forget it, you have a cabinet within the government, a cabinet, because

the government is already too big. You can't hold any discussions at all because it's so bloated.

So, a cabinet, and then you have the cabinet for affairs, and you

you bloat and bloat and bloat. What I'd most

like is to shut down

the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Anti-Education, Ministry of Ignorance, Ministry of Corruption,

Ministry of Progressivism. I can call it any name except education.