Government okays NIS 230 million for Jewish identity programs through Settlements Ministry

The government approves NIS 230 million ($77 million) in funding for a program to strengthen Jewish identity among young Israelis, proposed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock of the ultranationalist Religous Zionist party.

“In recent years, and even more intensely since the October 7 attack, the Jewish Identity Directorate in the Settlement Ministry has identified a growing demand among the general public, and particularly among young people finishing military service and [higher education] students, to participate in programs run by the ministry to strengthen spiritual life and Jewish identity,” Smotrich and Strock’s announcement says.

It says the Jewish Identity Directorate has “doubled” its activities in recent years due to increased interest.

The new funding is designed to further expand the activities of the directorate and help it reach 10 percent of all students in Israel, and a similar proportion of those not in higher education.

Smotrich and Strock state that the “underlying premise of the decision is that strengthening Jewish identity is an increasingly important public need, and that the state has a responsibility to address it as part of strengthening Israel’s national and social resilience.”

Smotrich adds: “Investing in the identity and heritage of the younger generation is the way to ensure the spiritual victory of the people of Israel, and it is an inseparable part of our responsibility as a state.”