Hello,
Thank you very much for agreeing to meet with us, and thank you for the brief report on what you did in the previous Knesset.
On behalf of the "Civil Compass" association, I am writing to you as your party's representative on the Knesset Finance Committee. Ahead of the elections, it is important for voters to understand the parties' positions regarding the budget, since it is precisely the budget that shows what the government is truly spending our money on.
We examined official budget data from the past ten years and reached three conclusions.

1. The state is taking more money from citizens. Since 2015, government spending has increased by about NIS 6,000 per year for every resident. Families are left with less money for their needs.
2. The money is being spent differently. A smaller portion of the budget goes to education, health, welfare, culture and sport, environmental protection, and internal security. In practice, this may mean more students in a classroom and longer waiting lines for doctors. A larger portion goes to security, the government apparatus, economic projects, and debt repayment. For debt repayment alone, the 2026 budget allocates about NIS 15,000 per resident, including children.
3. The budget is not adhered to. The budget makes fine commitments, but during the course of the year it is heavily altered and many changes are introduced. It is as if a family prepared an expenditure plan for the year, and then spent every tenth shekel on something else. In the end, citizens do not know what out of what was promised was actually implemented.
   We are also familiar with your work. With your participation, the entry threshold for the business compensation program during the "Swords of Iron" war was lowered, allowing even the smallest independent business owners to receive assistance. According to the law that you were one of the initiators of, every freed captive and hostage receives about NIS 6,000 a month, and for three years the state funds treatments for them that are not covered by the health maintenance organization (HMO).
   We kindly ask that you answer the following questions:
4. Do you agree with our conclusions, and which of them do you see as harmful to the country?
5. What did your party do to prevent these coalition decisions? How did it vote and what proposals did it submit?
6. The budget contains "coalition funds." What do they mean, in plain language, for the residents of the country? According to you, in the 2026 budget there are NIS 6 billion of such funds, and you managed to redirect almost another NIS 5.8 billion to wartime needs. What payments did this money go to?
7. What are your proposals for combating telephone and remote scams, especially against the elderly?
8. It is important for us to know your position on bullying in schools. What bills have you submitted and what do you intend to do in the next Knesset?
9. It is important for us to know how you assist Holocaust survivors and elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union. What have you succeeded in doing and what priorities will you promote in the next Knesset?
10. What priorities will your party promote if it joins the coalition? Where will you add money first of all, and where will you take it from?
11. Will you support the "Citizen's Budget" law? The government and mayors will be required to publish, alongside the budget and the implementation report, a short and clear summary. From it, every resident will be able to know how much of their taxes goes to education, health, and assistance to the elderly, and how much to debt repayment. What out of what was promised in the previous budget was implemented and what was not. Who decides on transferring money from one budget item to another. And what will change for their family if the budget is approved.
    We are not economists and do not know who to ask. We need to understand how the budget affects every person.
    We ask that you show the voters where their money is going, and state what your party's priorities are.
    We wish your list success in the elections and are ready to cooperate with you afterward, in the coalition or in the opposition.
    Sincerely,
    Dr. Yigal Gutnik
    Chairman of the Board, "Civil Compass" Association