Budget

Government submits 2026 budget to Knesset, Smotrich vows passage despite rifts

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the government was "determined to pass it [the state budget] on first reading,” during a press conference at the Knesset on Monday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after a press conference at the ministry, December 4, 2025; illustrative.
THE KNESSET during a meeting on December 24, 2025.

Gov’t faces one-week deadline to pass first reading of state budget amid haredi draft bill threats

 Shas faction meeting in the Israeli parliament on December 8, 2025.

Shas threatens to vote down 2026 state budget if haredi draft law not passed

 Incoming IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Amir Baram gives remarks at his inauguration ceremony, October 31, 2022.

Defense Ministry director-general says Israel returned too quickly to pre-Oct. 7 budget approach


Knesset set for final 2025 budget voting overnight

The Knesset will debate the state budget overnight as haredi draft demands add tension; final votes are set for Tuesday after months of political maneuvering.

 The Finance Ministry offices are seen on May 14, 2023

Cuts to the National Authority for Community Safety will harm communities - opinion

We call on the National Security Ministry to immediately halt these huge cuts, will effectively lead to the cessation of the authority’s activity in all Israeli cities and will harm communities.

 ISRAELI ARABS protest against the violence within their communities, outside the Knesset, in November, in 2024.

Israelis didn't question attacking Gaza on Oct. 7, they are now - editorial

On October 7, no one questioned Netanyahu’s reasons for going to war. Now, many do – undermining the sense of national purpose and solidarity that was once so clear.

Israelis attend a protest march against the decision of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire head of Shin Bat Ronen Bar, at the entrance to Jerusalem, March 19, 2025.

First budget bills expected to pass into law overnight

The bills were expected to pass with a comfortable majority, following the return of MK Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party to the government.

 Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 3, 2025.

Knesset tensions rise as opposition seeks to block budget cuts

Israel’s 2025 budget faces opposition pushback over proposed spending cuts, potentially delaying its approval ahead of the March 31 deadline.

 The Finance Committee meets in the Knesset, June 2021

Coalition struggling to muster majority to pass 2025 budget, sources say

The bill is currently being prepared in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee but is unlikely to pass by the end of the month.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf seen in Jerusalem, September 27, 2023

NIS 1b. for yeshivot inserted into budget base, haredi parties say

The decision means that the funds will no longer be labeled as “coalition funds”.

 HOUSING MINISTER Yitzhak Goldknopf, United Torah Judaism’s leader, in the Knesset last month. He turned to his Jewish heritage and instincts regarding the plight of the hostages, notes the writer.

Government approved 2025 ‘coalition funds’ amidst criticism

Coalition funds are a part of the national budget aimed at enabling the implementation of political agreements.

 Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 3, 2025.

Gov’t to whitewash over NIS 1 billion political funds in 2025 budget, letter reveals

The vote over coalition funds has been delayed.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf seen in Jerusalem, September 27, 2023

UTJ leaders refuse Netanyahu request to delay haredi draft bill

While preparation of the haredi draft bill sped up in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in recent weeks, it is still unlikely to pass into law by March 3.

 Police officers in Bnei Brak, Israel use water cannons as haredi Orthodox Jewish men block a main highway to protest efforts to allow the state to draft Haredi yeshiva students into military service, June 2, 2024.