Blue and White lawmakers express support for protest in Tel Aviv

Lawmakers from the Blue and White party voice support for this evening’s protest in Tel Aviv against the government’s economic policies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The protesters are expressing real and justified distress,” Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn writes on Twitter.

Nissenkorn, a former head of the Histadrut labor federation, says a financial aid package unveiled Thursday by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Israel Katz is a “step in the right direction, but we must present a budget that will bring economic certainty and engines of growth.”

As part of the coalition deal between Blue and White and Netanyahu’s Likud party, the sides agreed to pass a two-year budget. Citing the pandemic, Netanyahu is now calling for a one-year budget, which could potentially enable him to call new elections without having to hand the premiership to Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the head of Blue and White.

“We’ll insist that the budget look toward 2021 and will give a security net to businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed,” Nissenkorn says.

Blue and White MK Ram Shefa also voices support for the protest.

“Every protest is important, but the demonstration today is critical. Ahead of the budgetary decisions our role here is to ensure that no members of the coalition will continue to forget what the right national priorities are at the moment,” he tweets.