Dear elected officials: the cost of a Knesset member is about 2 million shekels

Annual expenses for a single Knesset member amount to about 2 million shekels, reports Calcalist. The base salary is 52,147 shekels per month before taxes. In addition to salary, members are entitled to funds for clothing, public outreach, a car, fuel, medical checkups, language studies, and housing if they live far from Jerusalem.

Annual expenses for a single Knesset member amount to about 2 million shekels, reports the economic publication Calcalist. The base salary of a Knesset member is 52,147 shekels per month before taxes. A committee chair or deputy speaker receives 54,767 shekels, the opposition leader receives 58,365 shekels, and the Knesset speaker receives 64,899 shekels. In addition to salary, each member is entitled to 5,147 shekels per year for clothing and about 111,000 shekels for public outreach. These funds can be spent on laptops, mobile phones, consultants, legal expenses, social media, and overnight stays when attending conferences outside Jerusalem. Members are provided with a leased car with unlimited fuel payment, a subscription to two newspapers, an annual medical checkup for 1,800 shekels, and up to 4,800 shekels per year for foreign language study. Those living more than 50 km from Jerusalem receive hotel payment or rent reimbursement of up to 5,000 shekels per month. Each member may hire three parliamentary assistants, and a committee chair may hire four. Upon leaving the Knesset after two years of work, an adaptation allowance of up to six monthly salaries is granted.