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For Israel’s Tycoons, New Strings Attached

Israel’s tycoons –  a score of people and families who control vast swathes of the country’s $220 billion economy – face a future of fewer possibilities as the government took its first step on Monday toward limiting their freedom of action.

Long-waited recommendations by a government panel chaired by Finance Ministry Director-General Haim Shani on what is popularly known as economic concentration were unveiled at a press conference in Jerusalem and they included measures that will limit the size and scope of business empires, increase the rights of minority shareholders and put a brake of the size of top-executive salaries.

Economic and social issues have pushed their way to the forefront of Israeli politics over the last weeks as calls for social justice drew hundreds of thousands to weekly rallies and protest-tent cities mushroomed across the country. Indeed, the Shani committee addressed such sensitive issues that the press conference was opened by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fisher and was broadcast live on television.

With consumers in a fighting mood and tycoons and policy makers nervous that populist measures might undo Israel’s booming economy, the three took pains to emphasize that all sides of the wealth divide would gain. 

“This is a blessing for the average citizen because he can go to the supermarket and pay less. There will be less concentration and more competition,” Netanyahu told reporters. But he added: “We don’t want to hurt the ability of business to expand. Business people drive the economy, create workplaces and are critical for Israel’s economy.”
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=33279 [2]