The government's conduct regarding the adjustments of the 2023 budget to the war is reminiscent of a famous children's story: "Grandma cooked porridge," gave it to the rabbis, ultra-Orthodox teachers, parties and cronies – and only the reservists had no left.
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The revelation of Shirit Avitan Cohen, according to which fighters in the various arenas discovered that the grant they received for reserve duty so far cannot exist beyond 60 days, points at least to problematic government priorities.
Reservists (archive), photo: Dudu Greenspan
Even if the distortion is corrected, it is hard not to wonder why it was not thought about earlier, and what the finance minister and his staff were dealing with, when almost from the first week of the war, estimates indicate that it will not end within 60 days. Moreover, the issue of indemnification of employers for social contributions to their employees enlisted in the reserves has not yet been settled.
It is enough to look at the newspaper headlines to answer this question—the Minister of Finance dealt extensively with ensuring that the cut in coalition funds would remain marginal—despite all the recommendations received from professionals—from the Budget Department to the Governor of the Bank of Israel. The Finance Minister made sure that the Avrachim received their supplements, as did the ultra-Orthodox teachers who do not teach core. Or as Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni said in the Knesset plenum on Thursday: "The finance minister faced a media that hurt him all the time and he took care of everyone."
Gantz and Smotrich, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The bill will arrive
Prime Minister Netanyahu recently said that there is enough money for everyone, and dealing with coalition funds is "baseless hatred." However, the account for wasteful conduct will still come in the 2024 budget—the Ministry of Finance is already working on a significant program of cuts in order to minimize the damage and not expand the deficit in next year's public coffers excessively.
On the menu – raising taxes, cuts in government ministries, and not only. The professional echelon of the Ministry of Finance (again) will propose cutting the coalition funds for 2024 and closing the unnecessary government ministries – it is only doubtful that anyone in the government will listen to them.
Minister Orit Strock, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
And what about the statement made by Settlement Minister Orit Struk, a member of Smotrich's party? Minister Strzok said in response to criticism that her ministry's budget increased by NIS 400 million during the war and most of the funds are not really earmarked for Judea and Samaria security, because "the pockets of reserve officers are fat" and this is the right place to cut in the next budget.
Subsequently, the minister clarified that she was referring to a cut in the "enlargement of the chief of staff." In this context, we note that these additions of the chief of staff are indeed problematic, but Minister Strzok's attempt to justify all the sectoral additions made by the government during the war is also very problematic, and this comparison is outrageous and certainly not appropriate at all during the war.
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