Israel is Set Fiscally Through 2010

Hillel Fendel
A7 News

The Knesset passed Israel’s first two-year budget on Wednesday night, a 616-billion shekel affair, by a majority reflecting the coalition-opposition margin.The budget stands at 316.5 billion shekels for 2009, and 325.2 billion for 2010. Passage of the two-year budget obviates the need to go through the tiring and arduous budget-passing process once again in the very near future for 2010, and grants fiscal stability during financially precarious times.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, for whom the passage of the budget is a personal accomplishment, praised it as “important economically, in that it backs our financial program designed to deal with the crisis, and is also super-social.” He noted that stipends for the elderly and families with 3-4 children will be increased, and that the subsidized medicines basket will be increased by some 400 million shekels.

Government employees’ salaries, a permanent fixture in the national budget, cost some 100 billion shekels yearly, while some 75 billion shekels are needed to pay for the deficit. Education – nursery through university – is budgeted at nearly 20 billion shekels a year, and defense and security needs cost us close to 50 billion shekels. Approximately 38 billion shekels are budgeted for welfare needs, including the government’s share in National Insurance payments as well as allowances and subsidies for basic foodstuffs (1.5 billion). In addition, some 16-18 billion shekels go towards health services. (Figures supplied by Tzvi Lavi of Ynet.)

Yesha Suffers Discrimination

MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said that he is gravely disappointed that the “right-wing, nationalist government has passed a budget that is so discriminatory against the residents of Judea and Samaria (Yesha).” He noted, for instance, that while farmers in the rest of Israel pay water rates that are 1/5 those of regular consumers, “Yesha farms such as our wineries have to pay regular water rates – five times more than other farmers. Another example: We must provide security for our communities, but when we ask for money to reinforce buses or vans for special education, we are told that there is no budget.”

“We pay our debts like everyone else, but we don’t share in the privileges,” Ariel said. He acknowledged, however, that in terms of building classrooms and school transportation, there is no discrimination.