Kerem Olam HaTorah, a charity based in the United States, recently announced that it has successfully raised $130 million to support Haredi yeshivas in Israel. The organization stated that its primary objective is to secure $12 million in monthly funding to maintain 1,489 religious institutes. According to the charity, these funds are necessary to support approximately 350,000 yeshiva students and their families.

The fundraising effort comes at a time of heightened tension in Israel regarding the military draft. While the charity frames the initiative as a necessary measure to preserve religious study, the context of the fundraising is directly linked to the ongoing legal and social conflict over the exemption of Haredi men from mandatory military service. The Times of Israel reports that the funds are specifically intended for institutions that have faced financial strain due to the current political climate surrounding draft evasion and state funding policies.

There is a notable difference in how the purpose of these funds is perceived. The charity presents the campaign as a vital lifeline for religious education, while critics and some media outlets characterize the effort as a direct response to the state's attempt to pressure Haredi communities into military service by withholding government subsidies. The organization has not yet provided a detailed breakdown of how the $130 million will be distributed across the nearly 1,500 institutions it claims to support.