Many members of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government have turned against Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman following the presentation of his so-called plan to lower the soaring cost of living in Israel, which seemed to focus more on inciting against Chareidim than addressing the economy.

Coalition members, opposition members, and economic experts have slammed the plan, which mainly focuses on providing tax breaks for middle-class families with children, as not actually addressing the problem and totally disregarding the plight of the self-employed as well as the weakest sectors of society.

Members of the Yesh Atid, Blue and White, Labor party have joined forces against the plan and said they will not approve it unless it is altered to provide assistance to those who need it the most, Kan News reported last week.

The report added that Yesh Atid MKs plan on boycotting the Knesset’s Finance Committee’s meetings “until further notice.”

Additionally, the members of the Meretz party sent a letter to Bennett stating that the steps outlined by Lieberman aren’t enough to address the problem and exclude entire populations – especially the most vulnerable. The letter also proposes a number of measures, including raising the minimum wage, lowering VAT, increasing the supply of public housing, and taxing the wealthy, such as taxes for those buying third apartments, taxing capital profits, and imposing an inheritance tax. “Addressing the cost of living requires first and foremost, to prioritize the weakest sectors and assist them,” the letter states.

A Kan News correspondent described the plan as “prepared in four minutes in the hallway” prior to the presentation.

Dr. Adi Brender, a senior Bank of Israel official, said last week that Lieberman’s plan does not address the real issues and most of the steps are intended to increase the income of middle-class families with children, which will actually take away funds that could be used to carry out more significant and systematic steps in addressing the core issues: the lack of competition in many markets and the cost of housing and transportation.

As usual, Lieberman responded to the criticism of his plan by digging in his heels. In an interview with Ynet last week, he vowed he won’t budge from his plan even one millimeter and he expects all the ministers in the government to back him.

Former Finance Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) also excoriated Liberman’s plan last week.  “Lieberman is a pyromaniac who pours fuel on the fire and then screams that the house is burning,” he said in an interview with Channel 12 News.

“We helped everyone who needed it by providing NIS 160 billion, both to the self-employed and families. We left an economy that grew by 7%, unemployment was down and the deficit was only 3%. Liberman received tens of billions which he distributed to [Mansour] Abbas as part of the coalition agreements – and now there is no money left. The aid they’re providing now is a drop in the ocean.”

Katz also slammed Lieberman for his treatment of Chareidim. “He behaves like the greatest anti-Semites in history,” he said. “He attacks the Chareidim in order to deflect criticism.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)