Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu participated today in a meeting held for the benefit of Negev residents, also attended by Likud MK Shlomo Karhi.
"There's also such a thing as fake news when it comes to the economy," Netanyahu said. "We have a huge challenge facing us - a global pandemic - and we are fighting it, not just us but countries across the world. The mortality rate in Israel is relatively low, even though we mourn for each and every victim."
The Prime Minister added that, "There is fantastic economic data available, for anyone who wants it, but unfortunately the media isn't publishing the whole story. All they write is that we're in recession and that the economy is contracting, but the whole world is in recession right now, and all economies are contracting. What they omit to tell you is that the Israeli economy is contracting only half as much as the economies of Europe and most other countries in the world. In fact, the Israeli economy is doing better than virtually every other country, with the exception of South Korea and several of the Baltic States.
"No one hears about this," he noted, "but I'm telling you this now because people need to hear the truth."