The Debate Over the Defense Budget in Israel

This article deals with the debate over the allocation of economic resources to defense in Israel. The article begins with a brief perspective on the definition, size, and history of defense spending in Israel and presents the major participants in the defense budget debate, emphasizing the relative strength of the defense establishment and the Ministry of Finance, and the weakness of other parties. Turning to the debate itself, the major differences bearing on the size of the budget, its structure, and its preparation are analyzed. As focus is turned to recent experience, the growing differences concerning the size of the budget on the background of the aftermath of the recent Intifada and the American invasion of Iraq are described. Finally, the growing uneasiness regarding the defense budget preparation process and, in particular, the unsatisfactory contribution of the civilian sector to this process is discussed. It is argued that this not only the result of defense sector "imperialism", but to a large extent the consequence of the unwillingness of the civilian authorities to accept responsibility and to allocate the resources necessary for serious participation in the process.