From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 18, 2023
Knesset cancels raises for top government officials amid war
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The Knesset Finance Committee cancels a scheduled raise in salary for senior government officials and public servants as a contribution to the war effort against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on the northern border.
The salaries of the president, cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, and judges had all been slated to rise on January 1, 2024, in accordance with the average rate of wage increases.
These salaries are now scheduled to rise again from their 2023 levels only at the beginning of 2025.
Together with the cancellation of raises for MKs agreed upon last week, the state will save NIS 52 million in 2024.
Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni says he agreed to the move since “these wages are not low” while director of the Israel Courts Administration Judge Michael Spitzer says, “We fully agree to this proposal; the circumstances and the situation require this, there’s no question.”
