After S&P warning, Finance Minister Smotrich blames protesters for economic threats

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich takes part in a march to the illegal West Bank outpost of Evyatar, near the West Bank city of Nablus, during the Passover holiday, April 10, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/ Flash90/ File)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich takes part in a march to the illegal West Bank outpost of Evyatar, near the West Bank city of Nablus, during the Passover holiday, April 10, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/ Flash90/ File)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismisses a warning from the international Standard and Poor’s credit ratings agency about the negative impact the government’s judicial overhaul may have on the economy.

“When you look past the headlines in the media, you see that S&P, like Moody’s, doesn’t recommend a credit ratings downgrade because of a warning about economic damage caused by the judicial reform, but because the protests are creating instability,” Smotrich writes on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Meanwhile, Moshe Radman, one of the protest leaders, said openly he intends to harm the Israeli economy,” Smotrich says. “The opposition must condemn leaders like him who are damaging the state of Israel, and come to real talks that will lead to shared agreements and together we can fix the essential things in the legal system and strengthen the Israeli economy.”

The globally influential credit rating agencies Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s have warned that the judicial overhaul threatens Israel’s economy by inflaming protests and societal divisions, stoking economic uncertainty, and raising political and security risks.

Israeli finance officials and business leaders have consistently warned of damage to the economy, and high tech workers make up a prominent part of the protest movement.

Most Popular