A war of words erupted in the Knesset plenary on Wednesday between Deputy Knesset Speaker Yaakov Margi (Shas) and opposition chairman Yair Lapid.

Margi attacked Lapid for waging an incitement campaign against funding for Chareidi education by filing petitions to the Supreme Court, which froze the funds and deemed the transfers “illegal” at a hearing held last week since they were transferred before they were formally approved by the Finance Committee.

Margi, who was presiding over the Knesset session while Lapid was speaking, lashed out at Lapid, saying that the practice of transferring funds prior to formal approval has been carried out every December for years as part of the end-of-year budget process.

“Don’t repeat the lie again and again—it doesn’t make it true,” Margi said. “This is a well-known and longstanding practice throughout history, including during your term as finance minister.”

“In December, budgetary transfers are made in all areas across all government ministries, before approval by the Finance Committee. Funds were also transferred for judges’ salaries before committee approval.”

“You can’t paralyze a government,” Margi continued. “When in December 2026, judges go on strike and refuse to work, hospitals stop operating, and health clinics shut down—know that it will be because of the hypocrisy and populism of the opposition.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Director General of the Finance Ministry, Ilan Rom, sent a sharply worded letter to Lapid, saying that during his term as finance minister, he himself was responsible for numerous budgetary transfers carried out in the same manner.

Rom wrote that if the state fails to transfer payments to which it is legally obligated, it would paralyze the government, harm large segments of the population, and even expose the state to major lawsuits. Over the years, he says, budgets have been transferred in this way to the defense establishment, the healthcare system, the judiciary, Holocaust survivors, and other entities.

He clarified that this year as well, payments were transferred for the education of Israeli children across all sectors, and that these payments were earmarked for teachers’ salaries, noting that without the transfers, thousands of teachers would have gone unpaid for work they already performed.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)