After the publication of the criteria for receiving subsidies for children in nurseries, a wave of public outrage arose, forcing the ministers of finance and labor to revise the criteria and announce the addition of additional subsidies for the children of reservists who served more than 60 days of reservist service in 2024. The reason for this was the fact that payments received by reservists for service were taken into account as income when calculating discounts.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur announced an agreement on Thursday, December 5, under which the nursery subsidy system will be changed in the coming days to increase subsidies for active reservists. The procedure for implementing the benefit for those who are entitled to it will also be published.
According to the Minister of Finance, the introduction of additional subsidies is intended to correct injustice and ensure that the comprehensive package of benefits that the state introduces for reservists does not affect the calculation of the discount to which they are entitled to send their children to a nursery. “We as a nation must provide immediate solutions so that reservists can continue to contribute to the country’s security without worrying about the economic impact on their families,” he said.
Ben-Tzur also noted that his ministry is constantly working to provide benefits and concessions for reservists in the workplace, he ordered the development of a special degree for them to subsidize kindergartens, since the payments they received during reservist service reduced their eligibility for subsidies.