Knesset Passes Record 2026 Budget with Surprise Yeshiva Funding Move
Israel’s coalition approved hundreds of millions of shekels for yeshivos and chareidi institutions during an overnight Knesset budget session disrupted by Iranian missile fire. Voting was delayed by two hours and began at 9:00 a.m., continuing into the night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu present.
Earlier, lawmakers approved major parts of the 2026 budget, including a 4.9 percent deficit ceiling. Government spending will rise by about 32 billion shekels, bringing total growth to 8.8 percent and adding roughly 60 billion shekels to a 699 billion shekel budget, the largest in Israel’s history.
In a dramatic move, the coalition used last-minute procedural reservations, normally for the opposition, to release funds for chareidi institutions that had been frozen by the Attorney General over draft concerns.
The secret tactic, reportedly planned for over a week, caught the opposition off guard. During the first vote, some opposition members mistakenly supported the reservations, which passed 107 to 4.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the move unprecedented and accused the coalition of enriching chareidi parties at the public’s expense. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described it as a nighttime looting maneuver while Israeli soldiers fought in the Litani.
Coalition officials said the funds were not new allocations but a legal way to release existing money. Minister Ze’ev Elkin mocked the opposition, noting nearly 100 MKs supported the yeshiva funding. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich defended the budget, citing strong economic performance and tens of billions aimed at strengthening Israel’s security and geopolitical standing.
Lapid concluded by saying the public understood the coalition’s actions and called it the largest theft in Israel’s history.
