New data from the Finance Ministry’s Accountant General, detailing government budgets for Chareidi yeshivos, reveal the severe impact of recent funding cuts—with some yeshivos suffering reductions of 80% to 90% in state support.

Some of the largest yeshivos lost as much as 20 million shekels. The cuts are the result of sanctions preventing funding for bnei yeshivos according to a controversial decision by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who declared the funding “illegal.”

In 2024, the funding suspended for yeshivos for talmidim defined as “draft dodgers” reached 350 million shekels. At the time, the damage was only partial, since implementation began mid-2024 and affected students whose draft deferments had already expired.

The full data, published in a report in The Marker, reveal which yeshivos were hit hardest. Predictably, those serving younger talmidim aged 18–26, now defined as “draft evaders,” suffered the most. Older kollel frameworks, with long-time talmidim already exempt from military service, were less affected.

The budget for Slabodka Yeshiva was cut almost in half. The yeshivah received about 5 million shekels annually over the past decade, which rose to 6.8 million under the 2023 coalition agreement. The sanctions introduced in 2024 hit hard, reducing its funding to 4.5 million, and so far in 2025, to only 2.2 million shekels. Even if that rises slightly by year’s end, the yeshiva faces a 50%+ cut overall.

Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak saw government funding plummet from 22 million shekels in 2023 to 7 million so far in 2025.

Mir Yeshiva, the largest in Israel, dropped from 56 million shekels in 2023 to 29 million in 2025—a smaller proportional decrease due to its large number of older avreichim.

Chevron Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which received nearly 9 million shekels in 2023, was hit with a 90% cut, receiving just 800,000 shekels so far this year. The funding for Ateres Shlomo yeshiva decreased from 25 million shekels to 9 million shekels.

One of the hardest-hit yeshivos is Orchos Torah Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, attended by mostly young talmidim, with state funding dropping from 17 million shekels in 2023 (including Welfare Ministry support) to 1.3 million in 2025—a reduction of over 80%.

Porat Yosef Yeshiva fell from 1.9 million shekels in 2023 to 240,000 in 2025, while Kisei Rachamim Yeshiva saw a similar 75% cut.

The Chassidish yeshivos were also hit hard. Vizhnitz Yeshiva’s budget was slashed to one-third, now totaling slightly over 6 million shekels. Similar cuts hit Gerrer’s Sfas Emes Yeshiva, Beit Matityahu Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and others.

According to The Marker, some institutions have been partially compensated by Keren Olam HaTorah, which reported disbursing around $9 million per month to yeshivos. That amounts to approximately 300 million shekels in 2025—still only a fraction of the roughly 700 million shekels lost due to the state budget cuts.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)