The new regulation will be in force from 2025, and will be managed by the Ministry of Social Welfare under the guidelines of the National Food Security Council, with the aim of ensuring a more equitable distribution.
Fundamentally, the use of discounts on municipal property tax as an exclusion criterion will no longer be taken into account. This tax, known as arnona, was, for judges, a criterion that favoured political decisions instead of focusing on the real needs of the population.
In addition, the benefit will be expanded to include single mothers, Holocaust survivors and recipients of income support.
The court's ruling follows a petition filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. Attorney Uri Hess of the agency's economic department said: "Today's decision puts an end to a distortion created by the Interior Ministry, which distributed food stamps according to political criteria, leaving out those who really needed them. This ruling will allow the coupons to be extended to previously excluded groups and will ensure justice for the country's disadvantaged populations."