Teachers' Union Filing Reveals Hundreds of Millions in Assets and Rising Payroll Costs

Israel's Teachers Union, which represents about 170,000 teachers and kindergarten educators, is one of the education system's most powerful labor organizations. Until now, public information about its finances was limited, but Globes has obtained the union's 2024 financial report after a freedom of information request filed by the Movement for Freedom of Information with the Justice Ministry.

The report is partial, yet it shows net assets of 470 million shekels. Most of that value comes from Bank Massad, through the union's control of Massad Holdings, which owns 49% of the bank, while the Israel Discount Bank owns the rest. The union's consumer arm, Ashmoret, is valued at 435 million shekels, largely because of that bank stake. The union also holds 53.8 million shekels in marketable securities, mainly government bonds, and says it has no strike fund. Real estate is carried on the books at only 15.4 million shekels, although the report says assets acquired before January 1, 1997 were recorded at symbolic values. The union's building near Kikar HaMedina in Tel Aviv is owned by Ashmoret and leased back to the union.

Operating costs also climbed sharply. General and administrative expenses reached about 21.7 million shekels in 2024, up from 18.2 million the year before. Much of that spending went to salaries, rent, and professional and office expenses. The report shows wide pay gaps between the union's leaders and the teachers it represents, whose average full-time monthly salary is 15,765 shekels. Two executive committee members earned about 650,000 shekels a year, or roughly 54,000 a month, while another earned 298,000 shekels a year. One of the highest-paid officials is believed to be secretary-general Yaffa Ben David, whose salary is indexed to that of a government minister after she raised it by about 7,000 shekels a month in 2023. The top-earners list includes six employees, headed by one worker paid 659,000 shekels a year, with five others earning between 449,000 and 594,000 shekels.

In 2024, the state transferred about 200 million shekels to the union, including subsidies for its welfare fund, the 'Gift for Teacher' program, retirees' welfare, and professional development. The Education Ministry says 49 million shekels went to the teacher gift project, now distributed as a 700-shekel voucher, and tens of millions more went to other funds. Of the welfare money, 39.5 million shekels remained at the union headquarters and were not transferred to the fund, while the 2024 report says another one-time 50 million shekels was received for the welfare fund, of which 10.493 million shekels was passed to the cooperative for welfare activities. The union says the money is for teachers' welfare and is managed according to accepted accounting rules.

Attorney Hidi Negev, CEO of the Movement for Freedom of Information, said the union continues to hide behind the Ottoman association framework instead of publishing full transparency. He added that it is 'infuriating' that the reports are not posted proactively on the Justice Ministry website and had to be uncovered through a legal information request.