Ministry of Finance senior presents: increase of Haredim - a national problem

Chairman of the Finance Committee and Haredi and Arab MKs in the Finance Committee sharply attacked the Finance Ministry Budget Director, Amir Levi, for a presentation which posed by the expected growth rate of the Haredi and Arab population as a problem.

At the start of the committee meeting for presenting the budget forecast Levi showed the Finance forecast indicating that in 2050 Haredim and Arabs will make 50% of the population. Committee members reacted strongly to the presentation of Haredim and Arabs as a national problem.

"If you bring this slide to show that Haredim and Arabs are taking over the country, it's very serious," said Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) to Levi.

Levi argued in his defense that he only wanted to show the problematic aspect of low employment levels among Arabs and Haredim to encourage care of the problem.

In light of the sharp decline in economic growth this year, Director of Finance, Shai Babad, said that the Treasury "has no magic solution" to boost growth. "The slowing growth stems from a problem in exports and investments. We are not recycling press releases and a lot of steps are done in parallel."

Budget Director Amir Levi said that the decline in growth rates is the first issue that bothers the Finance and is due to a decrease in investments and a drop in exports, which he described as "warning signs". According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, exports fell by 11% in the first quarter and 12.5% in the second quarter. Investments declined by 8% and 3.8%, in the first two quarters of the year.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!