During a special cabinet meeting on Monday, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich made it clear that there would be no budget constraints for the needs of the IDF and security forces in pursuit of their wartime objectives and supporting families affected by the conflict in southern Israel.
“My directive as the finance minister and as the head of the committee is that there is no budget limit for the requirements of the IDF and the security forces for the purposes of the war, and for aid to the families of the survivors of the massacre in the south of the country,” he said.
In order to oversee the proper distribution of finances to the IDF and Home Front, Smotrich has been appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the head of the Ministerial Committee for Social and Economic Affairs, a committee founded in June in response to the country’s consistently rising cost of living. In a recent statement, the Finance Ministry noted that government committees will be authorized to handle war-related civilian issues until the end of the war.
Smortich: Israel has three main tasks right now
“We have three main tasks right now. One - functional continuity of all the components of the economy and the government. We are going into a long emergency routine and need to define this event. The second - treatment and rehabilitation of the survivors of the massacre, and third is the establishment of a system of aid and treatment for the economy during wartime,” Smotrich explained.
As part of his plan, Smotrich ordered a comprehensive assessment of non-essential budgets, with a focus on directing resources towards the urgent requirements of the economy, citizen support, and the continuous functioning of essential infrastructure, all tailored to “the urgent needs of the economy.”
“During these hours we are building a system that will be very clear and orderly, will create an overall situational picture that will solve problems that will surface and create a quick mechanism for making decisions,” he concluded.
So… what about the yeshivas?
Once its comprehensive assessment has taken place, what the Committee determines to be “non-essential” from a budgetary perspective is likely to reveal a lot about the government’s commitment to prioritizing the ongoing operation and Home Front support.
The government was recently criticized for prioritizing the distribution of stipends to yeshiva students in the days and meetings immediately following Hamas’ attack in southern Israel on October 7.
In a widely-circulated statement on Whatsapp, the Alliance of Academics for Israel Democracy expressed its disgust with the government’s priorities.
“The Alliance stands shocked before the efforts of the Education and Finance Ministries to transfer funds to yeshiva students and compensate them retroactively, while IDF fighters are raising funds from private donations to purchase combat equipment and food,” it said.
“We call on the appointed ministers, Yoav Kisch and Bezalel Smotrich, to immediately stop this despicable move that illustrates even more the extent of the government's disconnection from a struggling Israel,” it added.