The "Iron Swords" war, which followed one of Israel's darkest days, is one of the greatest challenges we have been destined to face as a nation in the past decade, and among the main ones are the economic challenge and the resilience of the home front. The government, and particularly the Ministry of Finance, faces one of the most important tasks – to maintain the Israeli economy as a stable and growing economy, and not to let the ravages of war stop the economy's growth wheels.
This is especially true after the COVID-19 crisis, which made it clear to all of us how important it is to keep the economy functioning even in times of crisis, and strong in order to allow the economy to take off the day after. The Ministry of Finance's compensation outline is too late, too little, and does not demonstrate a broad long-term view of the economy's needs. Unfortunately, most of us are left with a difficult feeling that in real time - there is no one to really help and support us. We are promiscuous.
Minister of Finance Bezalzel Smotrich, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In practice, government support according to the compensation framework available to most businesses and workers in Israel is very low and in many cases non-existent. Thousands of businesses don't know if they'll survive the rest of the war. In this way, they do not know whether they will be able to survive even their hundreds of thousands of workers, who do not know, alongside the reservists, whether they will have a place of employment to return to.
No less worse, for the first time since the rounds of fighting with Hamas and Hezbollah began, and precisely in the most difficult war, the Finance Ministry insists on not compensating the tens of thousands of parents who are forced to stay at home.
The state's decision to discriminate in a crude and ugly manner between workers, granting wages only to parents who work in the public sector while at the same time abandoning parents in the private sector and leaving them without any wage compensation, harms not only the ability of those parents to earn a living, but also the unity and solidarity that are so necessary today.
Another serious mistake is the sweeping decision not to compensate large businesses that provide a livelihood to hundreds of thousands of workers. It should be remembered that those large businesses, which due to their size were also hit hard, create work for their suppliers - thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that will be the first to be hit, which will make it even more difficult to rebuild the economy after the war.
Soldier and civilian during the "Iron Swords" war. Only together will we win, photo: Shiran Rukban
All these failures lead to a plan for the economy that will only split the home front and widen social and economic gaps.
That is why I call on the Finance Ministry and say – it is not too late. If the state goes "under the stretcher" with us and gives Israeli businesses and workers the real economic support they need at this difficult time, without bureaucracy and without increased frugality, I promise you that we will come out of this war empowered and stronger.
It is important and necessary to expand the aid now, in order to be fit to rebuild the economy the day after the war. The war for home unites us, and so should we be in the economic sector. If we support each other, we will win, and alongside the victory over our enemies, our economy will only be stronger and stronger. We will win on the front and on the home front, for a strong and united Israel.
* The writer is Chairman of the Presidium of Employers and Businesses
and President of the Manufacturers Association
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