Bank of Israel head Karnit Flug
Bank of Israel head Karnit FlugIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Hareidi MKs are upset over a statement by Bank of Israel President, Dr. Karnit Flug, which they feel demeans the hareidi public.

Flug said Monday that the central reason for the decline in market growth in Israel is “the demographic trend in Israel, which includes a growth in the number of hareidim and Arabs, and the aging of the population.”

MK Aryeh Deri, Chairman of the Shas party, told Kikar Hashabat that “in normal countries, no matter how important a senior official may be, he would be fired over such a grave utterance.” Deri accused her of “slinging mud and refuse on entire sectors in Israel in order to make excuses for a financial situation for which she is responsible.”

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) told Kikar Hashabat that Flug's words are “baseless false accusations against families with many children, which stem from lack of knowledge and crude generalizations, which lead to unnecessary hatred and polarization..

MK Nissim Ze'ev (Shas) noted that “all anti-Semites used this excuse, and said that the world's financial problems are caused by the Jews. Incitement againt the Jews started mostly from financial subjects.”