Here's a really unpopular opinion: coalition finances are a positive thing. Second, wait, take a deep breath, wait with the shocked talkbacks. Here is the explanation: Government ministries are budgeted at the base of the state budget. Also, there are the coalition funds that are given to politicians. Indeed, this connection of money to politicians is suspicious, looks bad, and opens the door to corruption that was also exploited in the past – Deputy Minister Faina Krishnabaum has been in prison for many years, partly because of coalition funds that she used corruptly.
Even before Kirshenbaum, coalition funds smelled terrible – Tommy Lapid received public criticism for two million shekels he transferred to the chess federation in which he was active. Retired judge Yitzhak Zamir has described how in the 80s, one minister transferred money to an NGO his family managed, another minister transferred money to the authorities who transferred them to entities close to him, and a third minister withdrew money from an NGO to which he transferred money to buy groceries and furniture.
Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Since then, times have changed, and there is close monitoring of finances. An in-depth look at the tables of maligned coalition funds reveals quite a few good goals. Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz uses the money he received to equip hospitals in the periphery and provide rent assistance for lone soldiers. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana allocates the funds to a treatment program for survivors of prostitution, support for at-risk youth, and scholarships for discharged soldiers. There are several million who go to the police, under the heading "coalition funds for Ben-Gvir."
True, in the current round of distribution of coalition funds, large sums of money are transferred to the ultra-Orthodox. The opposition and opponents of the government are trying to brand "13 billion for the ultra-Orthodox," just as the previous government tried to brand "53 billion for the Arabs" – in both cases it is fake. The Arabs received about NIS 30 billion, including for a long-term five-year plan, and the Haredim receive NIS 3-4 billion out of the 13 attributed to them.
Is it a lot? Yes. Welcome to democracy. The government that received the mandate decides where the money goes. In the previous government, NIS 5 million was transferred to "strengthen the status of the trainer in Israel," and NIS 12 million to treat street cats. In the current government, the money goes to the glory of Baba Sali and the legacy of Rehoboam Ze'evi. The ultra-Orthodox leadership should be criticized for inequality in the burden and for distributing funds without planning. We must also criticize the opposition, which is now crying out against coalition funds. Accept a paradox: Yair Lapid and his people not only promised to stop using these funds, but began to enact a law "prohibiting coalition funds," but in the end they generously used them themselves.
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