MK Rabbi Gafni: Israel’s Economy Succeeds Because of Lomdei Torah

YERUSHALAYIM
Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, UTJ MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel’s economy has been doing well of late — and United Torah Jewry MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni knows why. “I congratulate the government and the finance minister on the positive economic situation,” he said at a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, which he chairs. “I, of course, have my own thoughts on the matter. I believe that when there are Jews learning Torah in Israel, the economy is excellent. This has always been the case, and I can prove it.”

Among the recent achievements of the economy have been a significant debt reduction in recent years, with Israel’s debt-to-GDP ratio — a key factor used to determine international credit ratings — falling to 60.4 percent at the beginning of the year, among the lowest in the Western world; an unemployment rate of around 4 percent — lower than it has been in more than a decade, and considered by economists to be at the level of full employment, where there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment; and a healthy growth in exports, especially to the Far East, in 2016.

“I said this in the last Knesset as well,” said MK Rabbi Gafni. “There was an economic downturn all around the world, and here, in a state where the lion’s share of the budget goes to defense because of the many enemies that surround us, we succeeded. The economy grew, our credit rating increased and unemployment fell. The same thing is happening now, and everyone can see this.”

 

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!