Professor Yaron Zelekha, President of the Supreme Academic Council and Director of Accountancy Studies at the Ono Academic College and a former Israeli Ministry of Finance Accountant General, explained his views on the judicial reform and its effects on Israel's economy.
Speaking to 103 FM Radio, Prof. Zelekha said, "There are all sorts of fairy tales that the left-wing camp is spreading - the reform has hardly any effect on the dollar-shekel rate. It's the interest rates, in both Israel and the US, and the second factor is the hi-tech crisis in the US and in the world in general, which especially hits the start-up subsector which is so strong in Israel. It reduces the flow of dollars into Israel."
"Just ahead of the elections, the dollar-shekel exchange rate was 3.58, and today it is similar - the reform has not influenced it, for good or for bad," he pointed out.
He added, "The fluctuations in the exchange rate have just placed themselves on these dates. The attempts to bring down the shekel have not succeeded. It's a shame that there are those within the country who prefer to incite against the Israeli economy. We have more than a ew problems, but this isn't one of them. It is the protest itself, not the reform. The rift in the nation certainly hits the Israeli economy and burdens it."
"It is neither the growth engines, nor the tools to reduce the cost of living, which also hurt the economy and the citizens. We cannot absorb the inflation, which has risen so much. Prices have gone up by nearly ten times, without salaries rising. We as citizens need the government to make things easier for us, so that we can innovate and expand economic activities, and return us all to comfort. And that is what they are not doing."