This is not to say that all is negative. Absolutely not: We are moving ahead successfully in a number of respects.

On Tuesday, by a vote of 66 to 52, the Knesset passed a budget of a record 620 billion shekels. This was a major victory for Netanyahu, as passage of a budget was essential to sustaining his current coalition until elections in October 2026. Unsurprisingly, the greatest increase in allocations was for the Defense Ministry, which was allocated 109.8 billion shekels.

“This is not just a budget,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in his opening remarks prior to the Knesset debate. “It’s the story of hundreds of thousands of [IDF] fighters, both men and women, conscripts and reservists, and their families. It is the story of the heroes of the borders, pioneering settlers—of an entire nation that is going to war to win.