Israeli Parties Received Hundreds of Millions in Election Funding
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Israeli political parties received approximately 300 million shekels in public election funding for the 26th Knesset. Five parties increased this funding by 12.8 million shekels through technical splits, with Likud and HaYamin HaMamlakhti receiving the largest share. Several parties, including Blue and White, are also burdened with significant debts totaling around 15 million shekels, leading to calls for a review of the funding system.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israeli parties received about 300 million shekels in public election funding for the 26th Knesset.
- Five parties increased funding by 12.8 million shekels through technical splits.
- Likud and HaYamin HaMamlakhti received the largest share of funding at 63.9 million shekels.
- Blue and White owes the Knesset 11.7 million shekels, part of a total 15 million shekel debt for several parties.
- Concerns over party debts are prompting calls to re-examine the election funding system.
The election funding for the 26th Knesset totaled approximately 300 million shekels from public funds, according to calculations by the newspaper "Calcalist." Five parties utilized technical splits, running under multiple separate party names, which increased the total election funding by 12.8 million shekels. These parties are expected to receive an additional 24 million shekels in ongoing funding over a full four-year Knesset term.
Under the party funding law, the amount is determined by the average number of Knesset members from parties in the outgoing and incoming Knessets. Each funding unit is worth 1.835 million shekels, with an additional 2.569 million shekels for each party forming a list. This system allows parties to gain extra funding even through mere technical divisions.
The five parties that exploited this provision were Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Yahadut HaTorah, and Democrats. For instance, Likud ran under Likud and HaYamin HaMamlakhti, Religious Zionism used multiple parties, and Democrats ran with Labor and Meretz.
Likud and HaYamin HaMamlakhti received the largest funding sum at 63.9 million shekels. Other major recipients included the "Behadraga" list (44.5 million shekels), Gadi Eisenkot's Yisrael Beiteinu (41.1 million shekels), the Joint List (24.2 million shekels), Yahadut HaTorah (22.4 million shekels), Religious Zionism and its parties (19.6 million shekels), and Shas (18.1 million shekels).
Parties that did not pass the electoral threshold but received at least 1% of valid votes were also eligible for funding. Am Ekh Israel, led by Ofer Vinter, received 1.835 million shekels, while Yoaz Hendel's HaMiluimnikim and Yaron Zelicha's HaKalkalit HaHadasha each received 918,000 shekels.
Despite the funding, several parties accumulated significant debts. According to "Calcalist," Benny Gantz's Blue and White, Hendel's HaMiluimnikim, and Avi Maoz's Noam collectively owe the Knesset about 15 million shekels. Blue and White owes the largest amount at 11.7 million shekels. Noam owes 1.647 million shekels, and HaMiluimnikim's debt is expected to decrease to approximately 1.774 million shekels after offsetting its due funding.
Am Ekh Israel also faces substantial financial obligations, having taken out loans of about 8.5 million shekels. After receiving election funding, the party is expected to have a remaining debt of roughly 6.7 million shekels to Mizrahi Bank, secured by guarantees. The debts of parties that failed to enter the Knesset raise concerns about the potential non-repayment of transferred funds, prompting calls to re-examine the party funding system.
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