Israeli economy experiences significant shock after judicial reform proposal: central bank governor-Xinhua

Israeli economy experiences significant shock after judicial reform proposal: central bank governor

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-05-31 00:23:30

JERUSALEM, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel's central bank governor Amir Yaron said on Tuesday that the country's economy has experienced a significant domestic shock in recent months due to the controversial judicial reform promoted by the government.

"Following the proposed changes regarding the judicial system and the accompanied events, there has been a decrease in Israel's economic certainty as perceived by the markets," the Bank of Israel governor said in a lecture at the annual Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society in Jerusalem.

"When the certainty in the economy is undermined, then the certainty of doing business is also undermined," he explained.

"This does not mean that within one day the world will stop trading with Israel and that we will not see significant investments in the Israeli economy, but the continued uncertainty has considerable economic costs," Yaron warned.

He noted that the Israeli economy currently shows stability with high activity, but there are certain indicators that show moderation, for example in the number of job vacancies and private consumption.

"Decision makers must restore stability and certainty to the Israeli economy. As long as constitutional changes are made, they must maintain the institutes' strength and independence, within a dialogue of all stakeholders and with a broad consensus," Yaron said.

Israelis have rallied for months to voice their discontent with the judicial reform proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government early this year. Protestors say the reform will weaken the judiciary and give the ruling coalition more power.