Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t just the man who will annex the biblical heartland. He’s also the candidate who will boost Israeli small business, if reelected.
That was the message Netanyahu sought to convey in a new campaign.
Just weeks before Israel returns to the polls, Netanyahu was perhaps concerned that the rest of his platform was being too overshadowed by a strong focus on security and diplomatic achievements related to US President Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” proposal.
Equally important to a great many Israelis is the continued development of Israel’s economy, especially in regards to the ability to start new businesses, which is not nearly as easy to do in the Jewish state as it is in America or Europe.
“Small businesses are the foundation of Israeli private initiative,” said Netanyahu, referring to the many innovative companies that have earned Israel it’s name as the “Start-Up Nation.”
“I believe in private enterprise,” the prime minister continued. “I’ve brought dozens of reforms, lowered taxes and cut bureaucracy. Four years ago we were at the bottom of the OECD. Now we are somewhere in the middle. But I want to be in the top 10.”
Toward that end, Netanyahu announced the appointment of a new small business adviser, together with whom he wants to complete his capitalize revolution.
If he wins reelection.
Bibi went on to warn that if his rival, “Blue and White” party head Benny Gantz, becomes prime minister, Israel will return to a more socialist path.
As evidence, he pointed to rumors that Gantz would appoint Avi Nissancorn, former head of the Histradrut labor union, as Minister of Finance.
Capitalist pig
Netanyahu, a student of former US President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies, has long been lambasted by his left-wing rivals as a “capitalist pig.”
Israel remains a largely socialist society, albeit with a strong entrepreneurial ethos, which Netanyahu hopes to strengthen.
During recent global economic downturns, international economists credited Netanyahu’s policies with maintaining Israel’s economic resilience.
For more on this topic, check out our recent article “Capitalism and Jesus”.
