Naftali Bennett’s "Together" party submitted its first bill as the 26th Knesset was sworn in, seeking to change government funding priorities and redirect resources from households that do not participate in military service and employment toward those serving in the IDF.
The bill was submitted as Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman has left open the possibility of including the haredi parties in a government led by Gadi Eisenkot, amid discussion of a compromise on haredi enlistment.
Dubbed the “Service Members Law," the bill goes beyond financial benefits for soldiers and reservists, seeking instead to change the criteria for allocating state funds. The changes would potentially affect subsidies and support currently available to haredi families that do not meet the service and employment requirements..
The bill is signed by all members of the "Together" faction, and reflects a central principle of the party’s election campaign: changing national priorities to place IDF service members at the top of the benefits hierarchy.
Under the proposal, the state would provide each active reservist with up to NIS 4,000 a month toward daycare or home-based childcare for children ages 0-3.
Active reservists would also receive a 50% discount on electricity, water, and municipal property tax payments, as well as a similar discount on public transportation and government fees. The bill would also authorize the government to offer reservists a discount on the purchase of their first home.
In higher education, the party seeks to expand tuition funding for discharged combat soldiers through the “From Uniform to University" scholarship fund. Funding eligibility would be extended to five years, or six years for engineering, medicine, and architecture, allowing the benefit to cover master’s degree studies as well.
Under the proposal, discharged soldiers who served in noncombat roles would, for the first time, be eligible for funding covering half their tuition.
One of the bill’s most significant provisions concerns how the benefits would be financed. According to the party, funding would come from changes to the eligibility criteria for government support and subsidies, and from halting transfers to households that do not participate in service and employment.
The proposal would therefore increase benefits for service members while reducing government support for households that fail to meet the new criteria. The changes could particularly affect haredi families in which men do not serve in the IDF and some do not participate in the workforce.
"Our principles are clear, and we have been acting on them from the very first moment," Bennett said. "The bill we submitted as the Knesset was sworn in underscores our intentions: to turn the pyramid upside down and place those who serve at the top of our national priority list."
Bennett added, "Our benefits for those who are enlisted and serving in the reserves send a clear message to them and their families: We are committed to you."
Together faction chairman MK Eitan Ginzburg said, “We made a commitment to the public, and now we are beginning to deliver and fix the country. The money is going to those who serve, and we are putting them, in practice, at the top of the state’s priority pyramid. Together, we will advance the bill until we achieve the necessary change."