Bank of Israel governor warns Netanyahu over judicial reform
The governor of the Bank of Israel warned Benjamin Netanyahu that his new government's proposals for sweeping judicial reform could damage the country's economy, according to Israeli media reports.
According to the Yedioth Ahron newspaper, Prof Amir Yaron met Israeli prime minister on Tuesday after requesting an urgent meeting. Yaron said that the overhaul of Israel's justice system would erase democratic checks and balances, which could lead to a decision to lower the country's credit rating and scare away foreign investment. The country's high-tech sector with 15.3% of GDP is the main engine of economic growth and is funded by outside investors.
The governor s intervention comes after a public rebuke of the government's plans by two of his predecessors earlier this week, and a strike by several hundred high tech sector workers in Tel Aviv's Silicon Wadi on Tuesday morning.
The Governor of the Bank of Israel reviewed the state of the Israeli economy and the challenges it faces from an international perspective, according to an official statement released after the meeting at the Knesset. In December, Netanyahu returned to office as the head of the most rightwing government in Israeli history: various elements of the coalition want to annex the occupied West Bank, rollback pro-LGBTQ legislation, limit freedom of speech and give the Knesset the power to overturn supreme court decisions.
Critics say that the last point would help Netanyahu evade a conviction in his ongoing corruption trial, in which he denies all charges, and undermines democratic norms and civil liberties in a country with no formal constitution.
Investors are looking at the next decade not just thinking about tomorrow. They do risk analysis: shareholders are asking me what s plan B? Should we take our funds out of the country? Eynat Guez, CEO and co-founder of Papaya Global, said investors need confidence that governments and countries will behave like democracies.
The feeling in our sector is that politicians like to use us as the face of the country when it suits them. So if they want to use us as poster boys, now they have to listen to our voices. Tuesday s hour-long high tech strike blocked traffic on a busy thoroughfare in central Tel Aviv, as marchers held placards reading No high-tech, no taxes. It follows major demonstrations in cities across the country over the last few weekends, which have managed to unite people of different religious beliefs, ethnic background, income and political leanings in what is usually a highly polarised society.
Guy Tytunovich, CEO and founder of CHEQ, said he was worried as a citizen and CEO about democracy, but the strike on Tuesday and other actions show that there are ways to combat this.
There is optimism that the government will listen and I am willing to invest time and money into this cause because no one wants our country to turn into Turkey or Hungary. The judicial reforms must be passed by three Knesset plenum votes to become law. Israel s Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday that the coalition has made overhauling the legal system a priority and hopes to pass the bill by early April.