Israeli Government Budget

Israel’s 'bloated, unstable' gov't harms public service, wastes millions each year, report finds

State Comptroller Englman recommends limiting ministries, ending duplication, and requiring full staffing and budget groundwork before government powers are reshuffled.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN
New Israeli Shekel banknotes are seen in this picture illustration.
Finance Committee chair MK Hanoch Milwidsky leads a Finance committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, during the war with Iran and Hezbollah, March 15, 2026.

Knesset Finance panel debates transfer of NIS 98 million to haredi schools

The High Court ordered last month that the Finance Committee reconvene and hold a fresh deliberation on the matter before voting to approve the transfer of the funds.

|ByKESHET NEEV
PROTESTERS GATHER outside the Knesset against the approved 2026 budget.

Protesters block Knesset entrance following approval of 2026 state budget

"While the Israeli public is sitting in shelters, the government of massacre approves a pig-sized budget," the protesters stated.

|ByTZVI JASPER
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Netanyahu, Smotrich to 'set aside' haredi draft law, approve billions in defense funding for war

“The costly campaign requires a special budget with the addition of tens of billions of shekels for the war effort,” Netanyahu said.

|ByKESHET NEEV

Transportation Min. to pay hundreds of thousands to provide buses to ultra-Orthodox wedding

The report clarified that it is a large event, and the request would include dozens of busses, which is estimated to cost the state hundreds of thousands of shekels.

MARCH 11, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish family takes part in the Tashlikh ritual, to symbolically cast away sins, ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, in Ashdod, Israel, October 3, 2022.

Unity government must include friends and rivals - editorial

According to the official Knesset website, a national unity government is one based on a broad coalition, the members of which also include representatives of rival parliamentary groups.

JANUARY 17, 2024ByJPOST EDITORIAL
CABINET MINISTERS in the ‘government of change’ take their seats in the Knesset plenum upon their inauguration, June 2021. ‘This year – in light of the rickety political reality we are living in – I would add wishes for political stability,’ says the writer.

Israeli cabinet approves controversial wartime budget for 2024

According to a statement by the Finance Ministry, the updated budget for 2024 is approximately NIS 582 billion, which reflects a rise of approximately NIS 70 billion in government spending.

JANUARY 15, 2024ByELIAV BREUER
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the cabinet meeting. January 15, 2024.

'Israel needs NIS 171 billion to match Western standards'

A lack of effective government highlights the necessity for substantial reform in Israel's civil infrastructure, increasing investment in several areas.

DECEMBER 23, 2023ByLIAT RON/WALLA
A street vendor sells bagels amid a crowd of protesters demonstrating against judicial reform in Tel Aviv, March 1, 2023.

Movement for Quality of Gov't urges AG to ban coalition funds

Following the passing of the amended 2023 budget last week, the Movement for Quality of Government (MQG) urged in a letter to Baharav-Miara to freeze coalition funds.

DECEMBER 18, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
DR. ELIAD SHRAGA, founder and chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, speaks at a press conference against the proposed changes to the legal system, outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem.

Revised 2023 State Budget approved, to be reviewed in coming days

An additional 28.9 billion shekels has been allocated for 2023 to cover rising war-related expenses

DECEMBER 12, 2023ByZACHY HENNESSEY, LIAT RON/WALLA
FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich and Economy Minister Nir Barkat attend a meeting in September.

Likud holds first faction meeting in months ahead of budget vote

The amended budget faces heavy criticism from the opposition for its continued use of coalition funds which Finance Minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said wouldn't be used during the war

DECEMBER 3, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Justice Minister Yariv Levin are seen at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on July 9, 2023.

Direct coalition funds to the war effort, now - editorial

Today, as Israel faces an unforeseen expenditure of enormous proportions and an economic crisis that may linger for years, using these funds for anything else is downright scandalous.

NOVEMBER 23, 2023ByJPOST EDITORIAL
FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich attends a discussion on the state budget, at the Knesset Finance Committee, in July. The state budget for 2024 and the next few years must be fundamentally redrafted, say the writers.

Israel shuts down public diplomacy ministry, budget heads to South

The Public Diplomacy Ministry was opened at the beginning of this year for the first time since 1975 and was in charge of hasbara (explaining) in Israel and abroad.

OCTOBER 22, 2023ByARIELLA MARSDEN
People walk with their belongings next to a bus as Israelis are evacuated from the southern town of Sderot, near Israel's border with Gaza, October 15, 2023.

Gov't allocates NIS 2 million to back non-Orthodox faith groups

These funds will be administered by the Social Equality Ministry, which is headed by Amichai Chikli.

OCTOBER 2, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Jews pray while activists protest against gender segregation in the public space during a public prayer on Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the holiest of Jewish holidays, September 25, 2023.