Netanyahu sources: Moody’s doesn’t really understand details of judicial overhaul

Channel 12 news quotes “sources close to the prime minister” — often code for messages conveyed on behalf of the premier himself — as criticizing the global ratings agency Moody’s for downgrading Israel’s credit outlook from positive to stable.

The sources say ratings agencies such as Moody’s “are being affected by the atmosphere. They have friends in Israel who are telling them tales. Are they well-versed [on the issue]? Not at all. In conversations with them, we discovered that they don’t really understand the details.”

For example, the source said, “They were not aware of Netanyahu saying the court override would not pass as [Justice Minister] Yariv Levin had presented it — and it was the override clause that troubled them most.”

The network noted that Moody’s latest assessment follows months of conversations with top economic and treasury officials.

The sources also added, however, that, “The very fact that only the outlook was updated and not the rating itself — despite an aggressive campaign by the protest movement — shows that they too understand that the Israeli economy is strong.”