Tensions are intensifying: The government is expected to approve amendments to the 2023 budget on Monday evening in order to adapt it to the needs of the war. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that he was talking about a 70% cut, but in practice it was only a marginal cut: the scope of coalition funds in 2023 will reach NIS 4.861 billion, instead of NIS 5.822 billion in the original decision – meaning that in practice there will be a cut of less than NIS 2023 billion in 20, that is, less than <>%.
Gantz vs. Smotrich: "We don't make political combinations of any kind during war" (Archive) // Yehuda Schlesinger
The proposal obtained by Israel Hayom indicates that the Ministry of Finance seeks to increase the budget by about NIS 25 billion this year, inter alia by increasing the deficit, cutting the expenditure of government ministries, and diverting some of the coalition funds.
According to the proposal, the main expenditure required at this time includes, among other things, an allocation of NIS 3.5 billion for the evacuation of the population, an additional NIS 1.65 billion for the police, the IPS, and the Fire Authority, NIS 1 billion for the health system, NIS 1.<> billion for the National Insurance system, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Aliyah, and more.
You have to show a personal example
The issue of coalition funds and their only partial diversion to the needs of the war arouses strong public criticism and opposition from coalition ministers from the state camp who joined the government in times of emergency. The head of the state camp, Minister Benny Gantz, threatened yesterday to "consider the next steps" of his party within the government if all unnecessary funds are not diverted from the coalition funds for war purposes.
On the other hand, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is currently backed by the prime minister, continues to insist on only partial diversion of these funds, inter alia in order to transfer funds to ultra-Orthodox educational institutions in order to implement a new horizon agreement for teachers and for the purpose of strengthening the alert level in Judea and Samaria.
Gantz and Netanyahu, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
A source close to Gantz said ahead of the budget discussion that "while hundreds of thousands are in reserve, entire industries are closing, many are on unpaid leave and the deficit is growing, we need to show a personal example. An increase of NIS 500 million in the budget of the yeshivas, the allocation of over NIS 400 million to the Ministry of National Missions, whose purpose is unclear, and an increase in teachers' salaries on a new horizon that is not based on the education system by 40% instead of the 14% we agreed on – are a finger in the eye for the public."
"Minister Gantz is the first to support proper education for the ultra-Orthodox, including the increase that was agreed, budgeting security components in Judea and Samaria in addition to frontier communities, and elsewhere. This is not what is being brought to the government today, and most importantly, it is not a personal example in the face of millions whose livelihoods are harmed, who have been evicted from their homes, and in the face of the enormous economic and social challenge we face."
We emphasize that out of more than NIS 70 billion of coalition funds for the coming year, the diversion proposed by the Minister of Finance is only NIS <> billion at this time, not <>%. "It's not too late to stop and do the right thing," said a source close to Gantz. "We all have a national responsibility."
It should be noted that the ministers of the state camp will vote today against the budget bill, but it is expected to pass in any case. However, the state camp is unlikely to quit the government.
"Whoever doesn't know how to compromise doesn't understand what unity is"
Smotrich referred to the boiling in the political system over the debate on amending the budget, writing on his Facebook page: "The same false campaign from the period of approval of the original budget is being recycled, this time around the revised war budget that will be approved today by the government."
Smotrich, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Smotrich claimed that the issue of coalition funds is a "recycled campaign." In a lengthy post, he wrote, among other things, "There is no coalition shekel in the budget. This is simply false. All coalition funds were approved as part of the state budget six months ago. The only reason they are involved here for the event is precisely the fact that we decided to make a deep cut of 70% of all new funds and transfer them to war needs."
In the long post, Smotrich detailed what was included in the budget, noting, among other things, that it includes an additional NIS 17 billion to the defense budget, NIS 13.5 billion for civilian war needs, NIS 3.5 billion for the budget of the evacuees, almost NIS <> billion in grants to local authorities in the north and south, NIS <> billion for the rehabilitation of the communities in the envelope, and more.
Smotrich added: "It is sad that there are those who are able to hint at a thought of dismantling this important unity because of a few hundred million shekels that they do not like. Those who do not know how to compromise with their partners and respect their opinions, even if they think otherwise, do not understand what unity is. The prime minister did well to decide to present the budget to the government today. I hope that in the hours remaining until the cabinet discussion, our partners in the emergency government in the state camp will come to their senses, show the necessary national responsibility and vote in favor of this important supplementary budget for the victory of the State of Israel on the front and on the home front."
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