Food Card Distribution Stalled Due to Lack of Equal Criteria

The Ministry of Welfare has failed for over a year and a half to formulate equal criteria for the distribution of over a quarter of a billion shekels via the food cards of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri. As a result of the party's insistence on tailored criteria that favor the Haredi sector, the distribution of the cards is not expected this year, and it is likely that the money will remain in the Treasury.

This emerges from an update provided by the State Attorney's Office to the Supreme Court last week in response to a petition by the Hiddush organization for freedom of religion and equality. In the update submitted by attorneys Yonatan Zion Moses and Daniel Regev, it is stated that "it has not yet been decided on the method of allocating the budget, including regarding the standards and criteria for its distribution, and it is not possible to commit to a defined timetable for the publication of these standards."

The State Attorney's Office emphasizes that without equal tests approved by law, the Ministry of Finance will not transfer the funds to the Ministry of Welfare. The ministry notes that any use of the remaining budget would require examination under the rules of restraint applicable to the government during an election period, especially given that these are coalition funds used by Shas as election propaganda.

Since the COVID-19 crisis, Shas has demanded and received budgets supposedly to aid families facing food insecurity. In practice, the funds were distributed by the Ministry of the Interior rather than the Ministry of Welfare, based primarily on municipal property tax (arnona) discounts, a criterion tailored to the Haredi sector with little connection to actual food insecurity.

In the 2023 coalition agreement, Shas was allocated a billion shekels for this purpose, a sum later reduced to 700 million following the outbreak of the war. Hiddush and the Movement for Quality Government petitioned against the distribution of these cards, which created a blatant preference for Haredim. Following these legal challenges, additional groups, including National Insurance Institute beneficiaries and elderly recipients of income supplements, were added to the eligibility list.

Regarding 2025, the Supreme Court determined that the remaining 300 million shekels must be distributed according to equal criteria formulated by the Ministry of Welfare. However, the ministry's proposed criteria remained focused on the Haredi sector and were stalled due to opposition from the Treasury and legal counsel.