News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Former accountant general Yaron Zelicha sharply criticized Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On (Kadima) Monday morning for "ignoring an economic disaster" by not coming up with a plan to protect pension funds whose value has sharply decreased during the stock market crash.

"Anarchy has ruled the Finance Ministry" for the past three years as the ministry ignores the economy, he told Voice of Israel government radio. "The problem with the decline in the worth of the pension funds is hurting consumption," he explained. "It is unbelievable that people like this are managing the economy. They are not preparing for a crisis despite warnings for more than a year."

Zelicha's term of office was not renewed following his disclosure of information implicating outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in illegal activities.