Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Transportation Minister Miri Regev praised the new allocations in the 2025 budget for their respective ministries on Tuesday.
The 2025 budget will total approximately NIS 619 billion, according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In separate statements, Regev and Sa’ar praised the new allowances for their ministries.
Sa'ar's reactions
The Foreign Ministry will receive a budget increase of NIS 545 million to strengthen Israel’s public diplomacy efforts.
Sa’ar’s National Unity party secured the budget increase as part of coalition agreements; it will serve as a reinforcement for the Foreign Ministry's recently intensified activities. He also initiated a weekly briefing for international media. He also launched an AI-powered communications command center to monitor international news and ensure rapid responses to media crises.
"Israel’s public diplomacy is a crucial and life-saving matter, just like weapons on the battlefield," Sa’ar said.
“We are facing a new form of antisemitism, one that targets the Jewish state, delegitimizes it, and dehumanizes it, while applying double standards against us.”
Regev praises budget
Transportation Minister Miri Regev said that the budget’s focus on public transportation positions it as a national priority.
“Connecting the country will distribute the population in a way that will enable social mobility and high quality of life for all Israeli citizens,” Regev said in a Tuesday statement.
“The newly approved budget places public transportation at the top of the national priority list and reflects a fundamental shift in viewing transportation as a growth engine and a means to reduce social gaps.
“An advanced transportation system is not just a physical infrastructure, but also a social infrastructure that enables true equality of opportunity."
Data from 2024 indicated a significant rise in public transportation usage, with 904 million trips recorded, the highest number ever in Israel.
The budget includes initiatives such as the "Connecting Israel" program to build a high-speed train network and the expansion of the "Transport Justice" reform with reduced fares and discounts.
The changes to both ministries will be implemented soon.
The 2025 national budget
The budget includes expanded benefits for reserve soldiers and funding for rehabilitation and development in the northern and southern regions. Smotrich emphasized that the budget is responsible for addressing the wartime needs on both the frontlines and the homefront.
"At its [budget] core is extensive support for reserve soldiers and their families, and investment in renewed construction and development in the combat zones in the North and South,” he said in a Tuesday statement.
The finance minister emphasized that the budget “increased support for growth engines,” like hi-tech and real estate sectors. “The State of Israel is facing the longest and most expensive war we have ever known, and by God’s grace, we are succeeding in the mission – supporting all war efforts, placing the reserve soldiers at the top of our priorities with a support package of 9 billion NIS, and managing Israel's economy responsibly,” Smotrich added.
Despite challenges, the budget passed after key political negotiations and agreements. The budget includes a substantial increase in defense spending and provisions for future investments.