Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: A comparison between the Greek and Israeli economies, the government’s failure to deal with the restructuring of the natural gas market, the end of conversion reform, and the first anniversary of Operation Protective Edge.
The Jerusalem Post takes advantage of the visit to Israel of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias to compare the Greek and Israeli economies, and states that while “Israelis have much to learn from the Greek meltdown,” part of the answer to Israel’s success has to do with economic policies: “While the Greeks have failed miserably in their attempt to stay within the EU’s fiscal guidelines, Israel has over the past decade or so cut the size of its public sector, reduced welfare transfers and demonstrated fiscal responsibility – consistently maintaining a low budget deficit as a percent of GDP.” The editor notes that although comparisons between the Greek and Israeli economies can go only so far, and a large part of Greece’s problem is connected to its membership in the Eurozone, nevertheless “The Greek lesson should be a reminder to our political leadership in Jerusalem to remain vigilant against fiscal irresponsibility while removing obstacles to innovation.”
Haaretz believes that the government has failed in its attempts to restructure Israel’s natural gas market, despite its boast that the deal it reached has strategic and geopolitical importance, and asserts: “when the government is determining economic, social and political conditions that will prevail for decades, and even enhancing these terms by granting them unprecedented regulatory immunity, we must insist that it make an additional effort to produce a better result for the public it represents.”
Yediot Aharonot contends that “The conversion reform, which was cancelled by the government on Sunday, should never have been born,” and states that because it contained no solution, it was “a bad compromise between secular and Orthodox politicians.”
Yisrael Hayom discusses the effects of last year’s Gaza conflict on residents in the region, and states: “though our collective memory of those events may lead us astray at times, the past year has been one of growth, stimulation and development, which did not always make the media headlines.” The author asserts: “While they continue firing at us in an effort to dislodge us from the land, we continue to blossom,” and adds: “Our resilience under any threat is a reminder to our neighbors that they would be better off leaving the path of hostility, which will not get them what they want.”
[Nahum Barnea and Dror Shor wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]
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