Coalition MKs defeat bill that would grant tax breaks to IDF reservists

By Sam Sokol 24 December 2025, 12:40 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade operate in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the IDF on May 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Coalition lawmakers vote 37-58, in a preliminary reading, to defeat a bill to grant tax breaks to IDF reservists who have served since October 7, 2023.

The bill, advanced by the hawkish opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, would have mandated municipal property tax discounts of 50 percent for reservists for the period they were deployed, with the Interior Ministry obligated to compensate local authorities for the lost revenue.

Arguing in favor of the bill, sponsor MK Sharon Nir framed the bill as a referendum on societal values within the context of efforts by the coalition to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service.

Representing the government, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli states that local authorities already have the power to grant discounts of 15% for reservists and 25% for reserve commanders. He also says the Interior Ministry “does not have the resources to compensate the authorities, and no budgets have been allocated in connection with the present bill.”

“Therefore, in accordance with the decision of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, it is proposed at this stage to postpone the bill and discuss it at a later time,” Chikli says.

Among those voting against the bill are Likud MKs Dan Illouz and Yuli Edelstein, both strong opponents of the government’s Haredi draft exemption bill, who were removed by the coalition from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.