MK Aryeh Deri has said his Shas party will not support the government’s 2026 budget over the Finance Ministry’s failure to fund a food-stamp program for low-income Haredi children.

The NIS 277 million ($86 million) program was promised to the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party in the 2025 budget as part of a coalition deal.

“Shas will not support the budget as a protest against the deliberate exclusion of Haredi children from the food stamp program,” said the Shas chief in a faction meeting at the Knesset on Sunday. “It is unacceptable that a poor Haredi child would not receive the minimum support as a poor Arab child does, as demanded by the Finance Ministry.”

“Last year, the food stamp program helped 400,000 eligible families across all sectors: immigrants, the elderly, Arabs, the periphery, and........

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