Outgoing Finance Ministry budget chief fiercely denounces Minister Israel Katz

The Finance Ministry’s budget chief Shaul Meridor — who announced his resignation earlier this week — lashes Finance Minister Israel Katz in a prime-time television interview.

“It can’t be that the moment someone in the room says something counter to what the minister wants, he [Katz] starts to threaten them, to yell at them, and to create an atmosphere of terror,” says Meridor. “I’m not very affected by this, but I’m not alone. There are 15 people there. What do the junior people think? Will they dare open their mouths the next time they have something to say that they think the minister doesn’t want to hear?”

“It cannot be that the discussions are held this way,” he continues. “We present our professional materials and he has no attention span, he looks at his phone or starts talking about something else.”