Knesset Finance Committee chair Alex Kushnir: This is the first budget that has been passed since March 2018.
The Knesset Finance Committee has approved the 2021 and 2022 Budget Laws for the second and third readings in the Knesset plenum. During the long hours of discussions thousands of objections were filed by the opposition and only after committee chairman MK Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beitenu) allocated funds for opposition aims did the budgets pass.
These aims included Nis 5 million for hospitals in outlying regions, NIS 14.5 million for Jewish culture, NIS 30 million for independent educational organizations, NIS 30 million for Shas's Hama'ayan educational network, and Nis 8.5 million for Jewish identity. In addition NIS 3 million was allocated for the development of the Galilee and the Negev and it was agreed to promote a reduction in National Insurance payments for Israeli students studying abroad.
Kushnir said, "We have passed here a very significant process, first of all for the state with the last budget that was passed here being in March 2018. In this budget there are many clauses alongside the Economic Arrangements Law, which has very many reforms. I want to thank all the coalition members and the opposition members. Members of the coalition - nobody here had experience in passing a budget but we did it on time and we did it well."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 28, 2021.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2021.
Alex Kushnir Photo: Knesset Spokesperson Noam Moskovich