On the 30th day of the Operation Swords of Iron war, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced today (Monday) in the Knesset Presidency meeting that he has decided to cut approximately 80 million ILS from the Knesset budget, which will be transferred to the state treasury for the military effort. This cut constitutes around 17.5% of the Knesset budget and is not considered a severe reduction.
In the Knesset, it was emphasized that in the early days of the war, the Knesset Speaker approached the Minister of Finance and informed him of his intention to cut the Knesset budget and transfer it to the state treasury to aid in the war effort. Now, the matter will be subject to the approval of the joint committee responsible for the Knesset budget implementation. It was noted in the Knesset that this cut is not expected to impact its ongoing and vital activities, and the principles regarding the independence of the Knesset budget and the separation of powers will be preserved.
About two weeks ago, following public criticism of government ministries whose activities were deemed unnecessary during the war, Deputy Minister and Knesset Member Avi Maoz sent a letter to the Prime Minister's Office Director-General, Yossi Shelly, proposing to redirect the authority's budget originally meant for support of Jewish national identity and its regulations to aid refugees and the war effort.
In the letter sent by Maoz, he wrote: "We cannot stand idly by when Israel is conscripted into battle against the cruel enemy that has risen against us, and therefore, in coordination with the Head of the Authority, Nir Orbach, I am redirecting the Authority's employees, budget, and offices to serve the needs of the war as required."
This step by the Deputy Minister is the second step by government ministers who are working to reduce the activity of their ministries in favor of the war effort. It preceded the resignation of the Minister of Information, Knesset Member Galit Distel-Atbaryan. In a statement she released, it said, "Operating a government ministry is a costly matter, and Israel needs every shekel. When I see the Ministry of Information, which has relinquished the authority given to it from the outset, I can only honestly admit that every day it operates from now on constitutes a waste of public funds. In the current constellation, this ministry cannot make a meaningful contribution to the state, and the well-being of the state is more important to me than anything else. For all these reasons, I have decided to resign from my position as Minister of Information."