The Knesset Approves Transfer of One Billion Shekels for Haredi Education Before the End of the Fiscal Year

SadaNews Economy - The Knesset Finance Committee approved this morning (Thursday) massive financial transfers amounting to approximately 2.66 billion Israeli shekels as part of amendments to the 2025 budget, with around one billion shekels allocated for Haredi education, just one week before the end of the fiscal year.

According to the official documents presented to the committee, the independent education network affiliated with the United Torah Judaism party will receive an additional amount of 426 million shekels, while the Ma'ayan network affiliated with the Shas party will obtain 360 million shekels. Approximately 150 million shekels will also be transferred to Torah schools with a "non-official" status, which are institutions that do not fully adhere to the core curriculum.

The document clarified, as translated by SadaNews, that these funds come as a supplement for teachers' salaries and an adjustment to the actual expenditure scope, indicating that the stated goal is to cover the deficit in salaries for teaching staff in secondary education.

However, these transfers raise legal issues, as a lawsuit regarding the supervision of these institutions is still pending in the Supreme Court. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education, compliance with the government curriculum is a prerequisite for obtaining the budget, while the Haredi institutions affiliated with the parties refrain from fully teaching the core subjects.

The transfers were not limited to Haredi education; they also included, as translated by SadaNews, the public education system: 480 million shekels for secondary school teachers' salaries and additional funding for kindergartens, along with 111 million shekels for education management in settlements.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich aims to cover these transfers from the surplus budget accumulated by various ministries throughout the year. Although transferring surpluses near the end of the fiscal year is a common practice within the Ministry of Finance, this time the funds were transferred from the general reserves of the 2025 budget itself, which could have been directed to other public needs, but the Israeli government chose to specifically direct it to Haredi education.