Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for economic reforms to improve Israel’s competitiveness and for more affordable homes during his closing remarks at the Caesarea Forum on National Economic Policy in Eilat at the weekend.
Buying a home in Israel, he acknowledged, is a “very, very difficult step” and the greatest economic effort made by an Israeli family.
“We are 120th in the world for the time it takes to buy a home. It's hard to renovate, and just try building a balcony. We must simplify the building process, make homes cheaper to buy, and enable people to afford homes without mortgaging their lives," Netanyahu said.
Bureaucracy is 'hell'
"We are doing three great things to this end, aimed at the average Israeli, things that will help to close the gaps,” said the prime minister. “The first is the historic reform of the Israel Lands Authority. 800,000 Israelis who lease homes from the Authority will become homeowners. The second thing is reform of the planning and building committees to simplify the bureaucracy which today is simply intolerable; it's hell. The third thing is construction of a network of roads and railways from the Negev to the Galil, which will bring about immediate movement in economic activity.”
He called the initiatives “very strong growth engines” that the country has been waiting for and has needed for many years.
The Caesarea Economic Policy Planning Forum was established by the Israel Democracy Institute in 1993. Considered by many to be the most influential economic conference in Israel, the annual forum brings together the Prime Minister, business leaders, public servants, economists, leading academics, and other representatives from the public and private sectors for intensive discussion of the key challenges facing the Israeli economy.
Typically, the Minister of Finance chairs the forum and the Prime Minister delivers the closing remarks.