Deri says Shas to oppose budget over delayed food stamps transfer

Shas leader Aryeh Deri says that his ultra-Orthodox party will not support Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s budget for 2026, over the delayed transfer of NIS 277 million ($86 million) earmarked for food stamps for low-income families as part of the 2025 budget, as part of a coalition agreement promised to Shas.

“Shas will not support the budget as a protest against the deliberate exclusion of Haredi children from the food stamp program,” the party says in a statement.

“It is unacceptable that a poor Haredi child would not receive the minimum support as a poor Arab child does, as demanded by the Finance Ministry,” Deri says.

“Last year, the food stamp program helped 400,000 eligible families across all sectors: immigrants, the elderly, Arabs, the periphery, and Haredim – all according to eligibility criteria set by government ministries,” he continues.

He accuses the finance ministry of altering the criteria to exclude ultra-Orthodox families.

“As long as this issue is not resolved, Shas will not support the budget,” he says.

According to Hebrew media reports, Shas and the Degel HaTorah faction of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party have also told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they will not support the budget until a draft exemption law for yeshiva students is passed.

The 2026 budget, which the cabinet approved on Friday, must advance through the Knesset by March. If the ultra-Orthodox parties refuse to vote in favor of the budget, and the government is unable to pass it, the Knesset will dissolve automatically, triggering early elections that would take place in June 2026, instead of October.