Adalah’s Response to the Israeli Government’s Decision to Cut NIS 220 Million from Educational and Social Programs for Palestinian Citizens of Israel and to Transfer the Funds to the Shin Bet and the Police
On 14 December 2025, the Israeli government decided to cut approximately NIS 220 million (about US $68.3 million) that had been allocated to social and educational programs for Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI) under the Five-Year Plan, and to transfer these funds to the Shin Bet (“Shabak”, Israel Security Agency) and the police, “for the purpose of combating crime in Arab society.” The Minister for Social Equality, May Golan, and the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir initiated this decision.
As part of the cuts, the government took NIS 16 million from the budget for the construction of classrooms, and NIS 13 million from the “Transition Year” program, which aims to improve the integration of young Palestinian citizens of Israel into academia and the labor market. In addition, more than NIS 15 million was cut from the budget of the Youth Authority operating under the Ministry of the Negev and the Galilee, funds that had been designated for programs encouraging employment among young people. The government cut an additional NIS 24 million from the budget allocated for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the Five-Year Plan toward achieving its stated goals.
Adalah responded by stating: “This decision is deeply flawed. It continues a troubling pattern of diverting funds meant to reduce long-standing socio-economic disparities faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Cutting budgets for education, youth advancement, and employment programs further exacerbates inequality, leaving communities more vulnerable. Cutting funds for these programs cannot reduce crime; on the contrary, it is likely to increase social and economic marginalization, which fuels crime. Diverting these funds to the Shin Bet and the police is part of a broader policy of militarizing and over-policing Palestinian communities, using high crime rates as a pretext rather than addressing the root causes of structural inequality.”
