Israeli High Court Freezes Billions In State Funds, Including Billion Allocated To Charedi Education

The Supreme Court on Wednesday evening issued an interim order halting the transfer of roughly 2 billion shekels that had been approved days earlier by the Knesset Finance Committee, including approximately 1 billion shekels ($314 million) designated for Charedi educational institutions.

The decision followed a petition submitted by opposition lawmakers, who argued that the funding transfer was carried out unlawfully. According to the petition, the money was drawn from the state budget reserve and included allocations to Charedi schools that are exempt from teaching the legally required core curriculum.

Reaction from both Charedi and some right-wing figures was quick and fierce.

Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus, of Degel Hatorah, tells Belaaz that the decision is part of an ongoing “war” against the Torah community.”It’s very simple. It’s part of the war against the Charedi community, to make them illegitimate in Eretz Yisrael,” Pindrus said. “The Supreme Court, together with the Yoetzat Hamishpat are doing everything trying to close down the Charedi institutions.”And we’ll have to go through it. We’re going through difficult times in Eretz Yisrael. This attack is against the Charedi community, the Yeshivas, against everything, and the Supreme Court is part of this political fight.”

UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf sharply criticized the move, accusing the petitioners of singling out the Charedi public. He said the funding transfers underwent all required professional and legal scrutiny and expressed confidence that the court would ultimately dismiss the petition.

Degel Hatorah Chairman MK Moshe Gafni said:
“The court has declared war on the Charedi public and the Torah institutions. The court demanded a response within just a few hours—a timeframe unacceptable even by court standards—and budgets that were passed legally, following accepted procedures and required approvals, were struck down with a single blow in half a day.

“The judges will not be absolved of the guilt for harming the livelihoods of teaching staff and the entire educational system, nor will the wicked petitioners be excused. It turns out that there is no democracy in the State of Israel; the judges make decisions as they see fit, according to their own worldview, completely detached from the issues themselves or the professional decisions made by the government and the Knesset. We will do everything to restore the situation to its former state.”

Chair of the Finance Committee and Likud MK Chanoch Milwidsky said:
“It is no surprise that Justice Amit’s protégé is freezing funds that were legally transferred to Charedi institutions. The High Court is amassing more and more power for itself. Unfortunately, for now, it is playing on an empty field. This will not stop until we decide to rebel against this legal tyranny. We are already long overdue.”

Agudas Yisrael’s Meir Porush said:
“It is now clear beyond any doubt: the legal system is not interested in security needs; they are at war against everything sacred. Lapid and the High Court are trying to battle the holy education of the Tinokos Shel Beis Rabban. No legal process will prevent us from passing on the tradition of Israel from generation to generation. Yesterday, we recited in the Asara B’Teves Selichos: ‘The council of tyrants sought our entrapment, yet we did not dare to oppose them.'”

Minister of Justice Yariv Levin said:
“I join the outrage of the United Torah Judaism members over the High Court’s decision regarding Charedi educational institutions. I call on the faction members not to suffice with protest, but to announce their readiness to immediately vote in favor of the series of legal reform bills that have been stuck in the Knesset for months. This is the best answer to the deliberate harm inflicted upon the Charedi public.”

The interim injunction was issued in response to a petition filed by lawmakers from the opposition Yesh Atid party, challenging the legality of the funding decision.

The funding transfer had received approval last week from the Finance Committee of the Knesset, which is controlled by the governing coalition.

According to the court order, a panel of judges is scheduled to hold a hearing on the petition by January 8, 2026. Until that date, the Finance Committee, the Education Ministry, and the Finance Ministry have been instructed to submit formal responses explaining and justifying the transfer of funds to the Charedi schools named in the petition.