Israel Approves Largest Budget In History, NIS 850.6B ...800 Million go to Torah Moisdois

 

The Knesset passed an NIS 850.6B  ($271B) budget in a 62-55 vote, averting early elections. 

The vote followed over 14 hours of opposition filibustering and interruptions from Iranian missile sirens.

Finance Minister Smotrich said it “takes care of everyone,” 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the move, saying: “There has never been anything like this in the history of the Knesset. At this moment, the coalition has added hundreds of millions of shekels to the chareidi parties beyond the framework of the budget! This is a group of pathetic thieves, disconnected from the public, looting Israeli citizens while they are in shelters.”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also sharply criticized the move, stating: “A nighttime looting maneuver. Right now, literally like thieves in the night, the government is carrying out a grab and adding hundreds of millions of shekels to chareidi education that encourages draft evasion… At this very moment, while IDF soldiers are fighting in the Litani, government ministers are looting us all.”