"You don't understand the magnitude of the economic crisis facing Israel's economy, you have to act in a different way": About 300 senior economists wrote to Netanyahu and Smotrich in a sharp letter on Monday.
Finance Minister Smotrich discusses fluctuations in the economy at a press conference
"The severe blow that has been dealt to the State of Israel requires a fundamental change in national priorities and a massive diversion of budgets in order to deal with the damage caused by war, aid to the casualties, and rehabilitate the economy. In our assessment, the expected expenditure as a result of the war will be on the order of tens of billions of shekels, and even more," the officials said.
They further emphasized that "cosmetic changes within the existing budget do not come close to the required amount of expenditure. The government must deal with the challenges as soon as possible and try to restore citizens' confidence in its ability to do so. A basic and necessary step for this purpose is an immediate halt to the financing of all activities that are not essential to the war effort and economic recovery, first and foremost coalition funds."
Reserve (illustrative), extensive impact on the labor force in the economy, photo: IDF Spokesperson
"We call on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to review as soon as possible all the items of expenditure in the 2023 budget, and to immediately cancel all non-essential budgetary expenditures at this difficult time. At the same time, the 2024 budget should be opened and updated based on priorities that reflect the needs of the entire economy in light of the war," the officials suggested.
In conclusion, they sought to change the conduct as soon as possible: "We call on the prime minister and the finance minister to come to their senses! The continuation of the current conduct harms the Israeli economy, undermines citizens' confidence in the public system, and undermines the State of Israel's ability to recover from the situation it finds itself in."
Smotrich presents the economic plan, photo: Shlomi Amsalem/GPO
Among the senior signatories of the letter are: Roni Hezekiah, former Supervisor of Banks and Accountant General, Yair Avidan, former Supervisor of Banks, Professor Yaakov Frenkel, former Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Elhanan Helfman, Harvard University, Haim Shani, former Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Prof. Josh Angrist, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics, Professor Eugene Kandel, former Chairman of the National Economic Council, Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, former Chairman of the National Economic Council, Prof. Zvi Eckstein, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Eitan Sheshinsky, Hebrew University, Prof. Leo Leiderman, Tel Aviv University.
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