In its sitting on Monday, the knesset plenum voted to approve in second and third readings the Economic Assistance Plan Bill (Temporary Provision—Swords of Iron), 2025. In the vote, 55 Members of Knesset supported the bill, with two opposing votes and one abstention.
It is proposed to establish a national compensation plan for small and medium businesses harmed as a result of operation rising Lion, with the aim of ensuring their business continuity. The bill proposes that a “business continuity” grant be given, along with easing the conditions for [paid] furlough as a supplementary response.
The grant, which reflects fixed expenses and wages for businesses, functions in a differential manner, and is intended for businesses with a turnover of no more than NIS 400 million, which suffered a turnover decrease of over 25% (for those submitting monthly reports) or 12.5% (for those submitting bimonthly reports).
In addition, the grant will include an inputs component that increases in accordance with the scope of the harm incurred, and a component for wage expenses including a 75% multiplier of the scope of harm. The bill also includes a response for self-employed workers with a turnover of up to NIS 300,000 who do not have fixed expenses and wage expenses, in the form of a fixed sum in accordance with the harm to the turnover.
It is further proposed to ease the requirements for taking a furlough; in this context, a minimal eligibility period of 10 days was set, and the required qualification period was shortened to six months of work. The absence period entitling the worker to a furlough will stand at 10 days from the 12 days of warfare in Operation Rising Lion, not necessarily continuously, for a worker to be eligible for unemployment benefits.
For workers with disabilities, the qualification period for unemployment will be shortened to three months from a total of 18, instead of six months from 18. For evacuees in northern Israel, the qualification period will be shortened to a month plus one day. In addition, qualification of three months of regular service in the IDF will be recognized for the purpose of the qualification period for unemployment benefits.
MK Yinon Azoulay (Shas): “We worked here together, coalition and opposition. Great work was done here for the sake of these self-employed workers. There were 12-hour debates. The people are waiting for this, the self-employed are waiting for this, the workers are waiting for their furlough. We pray that we will not need compensation anymore.”
The explanatory notes to the bill state: “On June 13, 2025, the campaign against Iran began—Operation Rising Lion—following a decision from that date by the Ministerial committee on National Security [Political-Security Cabinet] under section 40 of Basic Law: The Government on taking significant military actions. Following the start of the operation, the State of Israel contended with surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in large and irregular numbers fired from Iran and its proxies at Israel’s territory.
“The Government is working by various ways to assist residents who were affected by the warfare directly and indirectly. Among other things, it is working to give compensation to businesses that were harmed as a result of the special situation and compensation to workers who were absent from their work due to the special situation.”
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