Israeli Parliament Legal Advisor Approves Special Finance Committee Meeting to Pass Coalition Funds During Recess

In an unusual move during the Knesset recess, the Parliament's legal advisor, Sagit Afik, authorized a special Finance Committee meeting to approve the transfer of approximately 500 million shekels in coalition funds. This decision came after a previous Finance Committee session ended without votes due to disputes between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and ultra-Orthodox parties. Afik ruled that the upcoming meeting would be a continuation of the prior discussion rather than a new session, thus not requiring additional approval from the Knesset's Arrangements Committee.

The funds include at least 270 million shekels allocated for ultra-Orthodox education, 124 million shekels for the office of Minister Orit Strook, and about 120 million shekels for religious services. Opposition Finance Committee member Vladimir Beliak criticized the decision, expressing frustration over the lack of tools to challenge the process and warning of a formal protest letter. He emphasized that every committee meeting should require Arrangements Committee approval.

Last week, the Finance Committee convened with opposition consent to approve urgent budget transfers, including 6 billion shekels for the Defense Ministry, 250 million for northern settlements, and 1.6 billion for the Education Ministry. However, attempts to vote on coalition fund transfers were halted amid conflicts over the use of reserve funds originally intended for salary increases for ultra-Orthodox teachers, which were frozen to finance recommendations related to the Defense Ministry's Rehabilitation Department.

Opposition members argued that a new Arrangements Committee approval was necessary for another meeting, but Afik sided with the coalition's view that the new session is a direct continuation of the previous one. This ruling enables the Finance Committee to reconvene during the recess and finalize the remaining budget transfers, including hundreds of millions in coalition funds.