National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and his far-right Otzma Yehudit party voted against the State of Israel’s 2025 budget on Monday evening, marking a significant divide within the governing coalition. This opposition did not, however, prevent the adoption on first reading of the draft budget, set at 609 billion shekels (155 billion euros). The disagreement erupted following the cancellation of a meeting of coalition leaders over the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. In a statement, Ben Gvir’s party criticized his coalition partners for their work on an “irresponsible” hostage deal, cutting his ministry’s budget and refusing to submit a resolution on Baharav-Miara’s dismissal.
This crisis provoked a direct confrontation between Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “We were elected to govern. There is no point in adopting a state budget without dismissing the attorney general,” said Ben Gvir. In response, Smotrich called this position “a shame to undermine the coalition over stupid things.”
The budget provides for an allocation of 108 billion shekels to the Ministry of Defense, 92 billion to Education and 60 billion to Health. It also includes a package of tax hikes and spending cuts of nearly 40 billion shekels to try to control a budget deficit currently at 8.5% of GDP.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, although critical of the Attorney General, called for caution, suggesting that “it is better to opt for a process of dividing the powers of this position rather than a process of dividing the people”. Smotrich also temporized, stating that any significant reforms should be put on hold until after the war.
Swiss
