Jerusalem, 17 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The Knesset Finance Committee on Monday moved forward a reworked bill expanding financial support for Israeli reservists, ending a prolonged standoff over how the benefit would be distributed. Lawmakers had frozen the earlier version after warnings that it favored higher earners, leaving many reservists below the tax threshold with “little to show for their service,” as opponents argued.
The new draft abandons reliance on tax credits alone and guarantees a direct monthly supplement for reservists whose incomes fall below the point at which income tax is paid. Under the proposal, those soldiers would receive an average of NIS 3,000 ($926) for each month they serve, raising their earnings during reserve duty to about NIS 9,800 ($3,026). The committee said the benefit, currently temporary and due to lapse in late 2025, would become a permanent entitlement if lawmakers approve the bill.
The measure will now go to the Knesset plenum for its final readings.
Committee chair Hanoch Milwidsky said the revised text is built on “two pillars”: offering “real support” to reservists who were left out under the original formula, and ensuring the law can be recalibrated as the military reduces its reliance on long reserve rotations over the coming years.
He said the aim was to create a system that distributes aid more evenly while keeping incentives tied to service levels.
The bill still grants the highest tax credit to reservists who log at least 110 days a year, but it also requires that this threshold fall in 2028, when the Israel Defense Forces expects to shorten reserve commitments. Milwidsky said this mechanism would ensure the top-tier benefit applies to “most reservists in practice, not only a select few,” reflecting the army’s changing structure rather than locking in today’s demands.
The committee’s move comes one day after the government approved making the higher minimum wage for IDF reservists permanent, setting monthly compensation at roughly NIS 9,600 ($2,964).
The rate, first introduced as a temporary wartime measure at NIS 9,632 ($2,974) per month, or about NIS 321 ($99) per day, was due to expire at the end of 2025. Without the change, compensation would have reverted to about NIS 7,000 ($2,161) per month, which officials said was significant for unemployed or low-income reservists whose pay is tied to the minimum wage. The annual cost of the increase is estimated at NIS 530 million ($163.6 million).
The government cautioned that if the number of reservists rises significantly, the fixed annual budget may reduce the actual per-person payment, since the decision allocates money rather than setting a binding minimum compensation level.
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