The civilian project manager of the war, Tal Basaks, appeared before the public for the first time since he was appointed to the position, at a media event held by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Baskes was appointed last night to the position of projector by Smotrich, in his capacity as head of the socio-economic cabinet. Smotrich said in his statement at the briefing of the civilian control center and pledged that "we will not breach the 5 percent deficit threshold, we will act responsibly."
"I want to be short and purposeful and speak in both hats. As chairman of the civilian cabinet and as finance minister," Smotrich began. "The state systems took time to recover and organize, but I want to announce unequivocally that all the systems are working and providing a real response. I want to salute the hundreds of thousands of civil service workers, social workers, property tax officers who come under fire to the field, teachers who, under impossible conditions, continue to teach.
"The State of Israel is strong with a dedicated public service that gives their soul and I salute them from here. I welcome the amazing assistance of civil society. In the early days and intends to continue encouraging cooperation. Now the government will work even better with the establishment of the control center and the appointment of the projector. There will be more coordination and shortening of processes. Let me be clear, we are not replacing the ministries, but are working together to bring maximum results to the citizens of Israel."
"Our challenge is maximum routine during this period. Terrorism wants to stop our routine and we must maintain a routine. You have to go to work, have a routine. This is very true for us not only for the economy but also for our national resilience and that of the future generation.
"As finance minister, I want to say that the Israeli economy is strong, we entered this crisis well and we know how to support the war efforts on the front and on the home front, generously but responsibly, we will maintain a reasonable deficit even in the war.
"We support all the needs of the country and we are making an effort to make it better, broader and faster. I set up a team led by the CEO to speed up and simplify the processes. We are working on a new budget for 2024 and will formulate a series of structural reforms in order to put Israel on a fast growth path. Investors – invest in Israel and earn a lot."
Social Order 8
Afterwards, Tal Basaks, the civilian UAV projector, spoke and said: "Yesterday evening, the Minister of Finance asked me to enlist in the national mission to deal with the civilian home front. It was clear to me that I immediately responded in the affirmative. As far as I'm concerned, this is a social Order 8 that is of paramount and urgent importance. It was clear to me that I was enlisting for the state in a personal and national mission.
Tal in Sachs. Quick and concrete solution, photo: Rami Zaranger – PR of the Society of Community Centers
"In recent weeks, I've been walking around the ground all over the country. I met evacuee communities, met with mayors, government representatives and civil society organizations. Alongside the exposure to hardship and pain, I was amazed by the mobilization, heroism, spirit and unity displayed by the people. At the evacuation centers there are tens of thousands of people who need to manage routine life in an emergency. But not only.
"The Israeli economy is experiencing a strong upheaval. The challenges we face are enormous and on many different issues. Our goal is to ensure the functional continuity of the economy now and with an eye to the future. In the civilian control center that we are currently establishing, we will integrate all the needs that arise from the field, coordinate and synchronize the activities of government ministries and various organizations, shorten bureaucracy, open barriers and create responses.
"We will work in full cooperation with government ministries, local government and the business sector. Already yesterday I met with some of the government ministers and professional echelons and we began intensive work with the relevant bodies. We will act with full transparency to the public. We will provide a continuous and up-to-date picture of all the moves that will be carried out. We will also listen to the arguments and criticism and respond accordingly.
I thank you, Minister of Finance, for the vote of confidence and thank the staff of his ministry, Shlomi Heisler, the CEO, Yogev Gradus, who is in charge of budgets, and all the employees."
In conclusion, Basaks said: "The great test for us is your trust, the citizens – we came to work for you."
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