State budget advances after passing first reading in Knesset with partial Haredi support

By Sam Sokol 28 January 2026, 11:54 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"

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks during a vote on the state budget at the Knesset, January 28, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

The 2026 state budget advances in its first reading by a vote of 62-55, following a two-day delay caused by last-minute Haredi demands related to the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill.

Under the state budget bill, expenditures for fiscal year 2026 will be approximately NIS 811.74 billion ($262 billion), consisting of a regular budget of approximately NIS 580.75 billion ($187 billion) and a development and capital account budget of approximately NIS 230.99 billion ($74.5 billion).

The bill is supported by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Degel HaTorah faction, and opposed by the three-member Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri is not present during the vote.