Israeli Supreme Court Suspends 286 Million Shekel Transfer to Ultra-Orthodox Education

The Israeli Supreme Court issued a conditional order on Monday suspending the transfer of 286 million shekels allocated to ultra-Orthodox education from coalition funds. The court demanded that the Finance Committee chairman and the Ministry of Finance justify why these transfers should not be canceled. Alongside this, an interim injunction was issued preventing the disbursement of the funds until a final ruling is made on the petition.

The 286 million shekels consist of two separate transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee on August 4, 2026: a primary transfer of 270 million shekels related to budget requests 151 to 153, and an additional 16 million shekels linked to requests 101 to 106. The court’s decision requires the respondents to explain why the coalition fund transfers should remain intact.

In addition to the education funds, the court also froze 123 million shekels intended for the Settlement Ministry, comprising two transfers of 117 million and 6 million shekels respectively. Overall, the ruling affects four coalition fund transfers totaling 409 million shekels. The interim order replaces a previous temporary injunction issued on August 5, 2026, which is now canceled.

The respondents must submit their response to the conditional order by September 10, 2026. The ruling was signed by Supreme Court Justices David Mintz, Khaled Kabub, and Ruth Ronen.