Prime Minister’s Office Blocks Move to Slash Arab Community Development Funds
The Prime Minister’s Office has blocked a plan by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Social Equality Minister May Golan to cut 1.4 billion shekels from government Resolution 550, also known as “Taqudum,” which funds socio-economic development in Arab society. Instead of approving the diversion, acting director general Drorit Steinmetz instructed ministries to speed up implementation of the development program.
In a letter to ministry directors general, Steinmetz wrote that after a full review, “it appears the time is not yet ripe to decide on a budget shift.” She said the relevant funds were approved for immediate use to ensure “the continuity of government activity” and asked officials to promote the programs in Resolution 550 “as quickly as possible.” She also said any surplus budget transfers would be reconsidered in the fourth quarter of the year, during an election interim government period.
Since 2016, Israeli governments have run two major development plans for Arab society, based on the idea that closing discrimination gaps also serves the wider economy. The first, Resolution 922, transferred about 13.5 billion shekels during 2016 to 2020. Resolution 550, adopted by the 2022 to 2026 unity government, originally totaled 32.5 billion shekels, but after deductions for crime-fighting spending, Druze and Bedouin allocations, and later across-the-board cuts, about 23 billion shekels remained in practice.
Golan, appointed minister for social equality in January 2024, has pushed to cut the program ever since, and in late 2025 she sought to transfer 2.6 billion shekels to the National Security Ministry, including 1 billion from the 2025 budget and 1.6 billion from 2026, the plan’s final year. She had previously managed to move only 160 million shekels in 2025, much of it for youth empowerment and crime prevention. One of her other gains was a veto right for Steinmetz over transfers from the program. Arab rights advocate Jafar Farah of the Mossawa Center said the decision was “a slap in the face” to efforts to weaken the five-year plan and investment in education, employment, high-tech, infrastructure and welfare in Arab society.
