At the Israel Democracy Institute’s Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society in Jerusalem last month, Histadrut Chair Arnon Bar-David strongly condemned the proposed judicial reforms.
“The focus on judicial reform is hurting Israeli society and the economy,” Bar-David said. “The world is saying: ‘Have the Jews gone crazy? With their own hands they are dismantling the startup nation they founded?’"
He criticized the reforms for their effects on the Israeli economy and also noted the lack of responsibility in the Israeli government over the reforms. “The country is running without a work plan. No government ministry is leading the … reforms. There is a lack of action. You don’t break up the country and harm the economy over the issue of the appointment of two judges. We must move the economy forward,” he said.
Bar-David said that the biggest issue facing Israel is the cost of living crisis, from which Israel is being distracted by the judicial reforms. "The cost of living is not being addressed. A committee headed by this or that person will not help,” he said. “Our citizens are buckling under the burden. I can make a wage agreement or a framework agreement and initiate reforms in the economy, and we have done this in all the workplaces in the country. But we need the state to cooperate and face up to the difficulties, rather than focusing on the divisions.”
“I will continue on the path of changing the DNA of all workplaces. I am a big believer in the Israeli economy, in the Israeli worker, and Israeli economic growth,” he said.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Rose Angela.
