MK Danny Danon (Likud) appealed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich this morning to add a clause to the 2024 budget that would support active duty reservists.
In his letter, Danon asks that the ‘Discount Apartment’ program be changed to give significant preference to reservists and raise the number of apartments set aside for reservists to 40% of the total number of apartments available.
“In the law for the state's budget in 2024, there was important attention paid to valuing soldiers, and that is a blessed step, especially considering the times. However, careful inspection of the budget shows that despite the special state in which Israel has found itself since October 7th, to my considerable disappointment, there is insufficient recognition given to active duty reservists. These are soldiers who have left their personal lives, studies, businesses, and families to protect the state,” Danon wrote.
Danon emphasized: “According to the Land Council Decision of June 6th, 2023, preference will be given in price-controlled auctions to winners who are active duty reservists, in the amount of at least 10% of the housing units remaining in the projects being sold. It is suitable that due to the situation described above, apartments be added to the allotment for active duty reservists in a manner that corresponds with their service.”
“ I request that significant preference be given to reservists and that the number of apartments set aside for reservists in active duty be raised to 40% of all units in published governmental sales. This instruction will be valid for the next five years. I request that you exploit this window of opportunity to give final approval to the changes in the budget for the above-mentioned issue,” Danon ended.