Knesset panel okays mechanism to increase government funding for local religious councils

The Knesset Finance Committee approves a mechanism to allow the central government to pay a greater share of the budgets of religious councils in areas where the local authorities have difficulty in providing funding.

While opposition lawmakers object to discussing the matter, stating that it is inappropriate to deal with the issue during the ongoing war with Iran, a representative of the Religious Services Ministry says it is necessary now because if the mechanism is not approved within a specified timeframe, the participation rate of all authorities in the budget of the religious councils will automatically be 60 percent, which smaller councils may have trouble affording.

UTJ MK Yitzhak Pindrus, who chairs the meeting, apologizes for not consulting in advance with the opposition, staying that committee chairman Moshe Gafni (UTJ) has reservations regarding the issue.

Religious councils provide state religious services, such as kosher supervision and mikvahs, to communities at the city and regional council levels. They are funded by both local authorities and the national government.