The 2025 state budget has officially passed its third and final reading, securing the votes necessary to become law. After an intense session in the Knesset plenum, lawmakers voted 66-52 in favor of the NIS 755 billion ($205 billion) budget, avoiding a potential government collapse ahead of the March 31 deadline.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed the budget as a crucial step in securing both the military front and the home front, emphasizing that economic stability is key to national strength.

“The budget has everything we need to win, both on the battlefield and at home,” Smotrich declared. “We approached this budget with a great sense of achrayus, knowing that it is our responsibility to ensure Klal Yisrael remains strong. We promoted policies that will strengthen the economy and allow it to continue to grow. This is a war budget, and, b’ezras Hashem, it will also be a victory budget.”

Despite the coalition’s confidence in the budget, the opposition fiercely attacked it, arguing that it places an even heavier financial burden on Israeli citizens without addressing the rising cost of living.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman lambasted the budget, accusing the government of ignoring the hardships faced by ordinary Israelis.

“Everything has gone up—VAT has gone up, National Insurance payments have gone up, water, electricity, arnona—all have gone up. But they haven’t cut even a single shekel in coalition funds,” Liberman charged.

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz echoed those concerns, warning that this budget would be felt by every Israeli household in the months to come.

“This budget will hit every citizen of Israel, and at the end of the day, you will be the ones to pay the price,” Gantz warned. “The arrogance and detachment of this government will come back to them with interest.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)