Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis was interviewed by journalist Mike Wagenheim at the Arutz Sheva Jerusalem Conference in New York on Sunday.
"I want to send my condolences to the families of the three IDF soldiers who were killed yesterday on the border with Egypt. We all send our condolences and we hope this is the last terrorist attack on this border," Akunis began.
Regarding the protest against the judicial reform, Minister Akunis said, "There is no danger to Israeli democracy. Israeli democracy is stable, strong, it is the only democracy in the Middle East and I suggest that no one preach to me, the Prime Minister or anyone from the coalition about democracy."
"We know that there were elections and this is the will of the people, this is real democracy. The Prime Minister's policy is to bring the judicial reform to the Knesset with overwhelming agreement and I hope we can end the summer session of the Knesset peacefully," he added.
Commenting on the claim that the Israeli high-tech has been affected by the protests against the judicial reform, Minister Akunis said, "Israel is a world leader in the field of high-tech. I have signed 30 agreements with countries around the world, everyone wants to learn from us how to be a high-tech nation. I see food tec as the next cyber, if you will. We see that it should lead the industry. We announced in the Science and Technology Committee that we will bring a national food and tech program to the cabinet. We deal with artificial intelligence, quantum, water technologies, agritech and I am optimistic about our future. I told the committee in the Knesset to stop saying bad things about Israeli democracy and the Israeli industry."
To the question of whether there is anything on the horizon in relation the partnership with the US in high-tech, Minister Akunis replied, "The alliance with the US is very strong in matters of security in space, etc. Since 2020 it has been illegal to ban products from Judea and Samaria. I spoke with the CEO of NASA and everyone is interested in Israeli innovation."