The Knesset on passed high-stakes legislation early on Tuesday morning, granting tuition scholarships to IDF veterans. The bill passed after Likud agreed to a last-minute compromise proposal from Defense Minister Benny Gantz and pulled its reservations about the bill, thus skipping the vote and allowing the bill to pass.
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The scholarship bill passed following a lengthy parliamentary session with a vote of 55 in favor and six against. The Joint Arab List, an opposition member, presented a vote of no confidence immediately in its wake, which failed to pass.
The new law affords IDF soldiers a scholarship of 75% of university tuition when they are discharged from the army. The funds will be awarded in addition to the regular discharge grant, which can be used for several things, such as professional training, housing, or tuition.
"I'm proud to be able to advocate for IDF soldiers, who spare no effort to defend us. They are the ones who won tonight. This is all for them," Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted.
"We did it!" Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted. "The money will be given to our soldiers this coming semester. IDF soldiers – this is for you!"
"We promised to make soldiers our top priority and we kept that promise," Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
