Finance Ministry

Knesset advances bill granting five-year tax exemption to olim, returning residents

Olim, along with returning residents who have lived abroad for at least ten years, will be eligible for the tax exemption.

Minister of Finance and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 23, 2026.
Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market bustles as the war in Iran rages, March 5, 2026

Israel registered 37% less unpaid leave applications than in previous Iran war, report reveals

 The Knesset building, home of Israel's legislature, in Jerusalem, on November 14, 2022 (Illustrative).

Gov't adds NIS 2.6 billion to defense, raising state budget by NIS 32 billion due to war

An illustrative image of a supportive mother talking to her child.

Government to arrange unpaid leave for parents with kids under 14 as schools remain remote


Hitting hard: How the Iran war is decimating Israel's small businesses

BUSINESS AFFAIRS: With gatherings and nonessential work from the office prohibited, and airlines doing their best to avoid the region, multiple industries have been deeply affected by the war.

Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market bustles as the war in Iran rages, March 5, 2026

Finance Ministry warns of NIS 9.5b. weekly loss, urges Home Front Command to ease restrictions

The Finance Ministry warned that the economic shutdown is costing Israel NIS 9.5 billion per week, urging a shift to an alert status and allowing businesses with protected spaces to reopen.

Israeli shekel

Government approves grants for residents whose homes were damaged in Iranian missile strikes

NIS 2,000 will be provided initially to each resident whose home was damaged and declared unfit for habitation, with residents additionally evacuated to a government-funded hotel.

 New Israeli Shekel banknotes are seen in this picture illustration taken November 9, 2021

Middle Israel: Smotrich’s crushing Knesset defeat exposes the finance minister's limits - opinion

Smotrich is a light-year away from the Israeli consensus. Why does a man who represents but a marginal, detached, and minuscule part of Israeli society sit on its national chest?

EVEN BEZALEL Smotrich’s rivals agree that he is a smart man who studies complex issues quickly and knows how to make decisions. Here, the finance minister leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on Monday.

Business owners protest at Knesset as Smotrich raises Israel's import tax exemption

The government approved Smotrich's order on Sunday and is expected to be finalized through a vote in the Knesset plenum on Monday evening.

Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026.

Smotrich doubles down on refusal to enlist daughter, claims IDF is 'no place for women'

In an interview, Smotrich also addressed his comments on crime rates in Arab communities, saying, "There is a culture of murder, killing, and jihad in Arab society."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrives to a conference of the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon in Jerusalem, December 25, 2025

Finance Minister Smotrich says he won't educate his daughter to enlist in the IDF

The statement, made during a Religious Zionist Party Knesset press conference, comes as the government fast-tracks a haredi conscription bill.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (RZP) speaks at a Religious Zionist Party press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 16, 2026.

Israel to build new international airport in Negev, PMO announces

The project, initially approved by the Economic Affairs Committee in March of 2025, is also intended to help alleviate traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Passengers at the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv on September 18, 2025.

Israel to launch platform for securing cross-government research

The project, called RAKMA, is designed to solve a problem that has long limited government research

 An illustrative image of an Israeli using security programs on a computer.

IDF moves to quell reservist backlash over service cuts tied to post-war budget deal

Broadly speaking, the changes surround the agreement between the IDF and the Finance Ministry to reduce the number of standing reservists on duty on any given day from 60,000 to 40,000.

Reservists train during a battalion wide exercise in the Golan Heights.