More than a hundred Israeli executives and fund managers on Tuesday joined a call launched last week to warn Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s stable democracy is under threat. The coalition’s preferred policy is the world.
One of the signatories, Elah Alkalay, president of IBI Mutual Funds, which manages about 10 billion ($2.9 billion) in assets, said the most important thing in the business sector is to The upcoming legislation could change the country’s checks and balances and leadership. by politicizing Israel’s judicial system and strengthening the principles of democracy.
Netanyahu’s coalition plans to block the courts, change the Basic Law, and give far-right lawmakers significant powers in the West Bank. Party leaders with anti-LGBTQ agendas have been given authority over some educational programs.
“The most important thing is that if the judicial system is political, the international community considers it as a country like Hungary or Poland or Turkey where economic and political considerations are necessary. a court that affects transparency, and predictability increases the risk and cost of doing business,” Alkalay told The Times of Israel in a written comment.
Netanyahu has until midnight to inform President Isaac Herzog, who formally ordered him to form a new coalition after last month’s Knesset elections, whether he has the votes to swear in a new government.
Netanyahu’s letter of appeal, led by Erez Shachar, co-founder of Qumra Capital, and signed last week by the tech executive and serial entrepreneur, comes as members of the coalition vow to manage to pass the agreement. called the override clause, and also to give the coalition the day to control the panel that selects judges.
Elah Alkalay, president of IBI Mutual Funds. (Courtesy/IBI)
The bloc, made up of Netanyahu’s Likud party, two ultra-Orthodox parties and three far-right parties, pushed through the controversial Knesset law set as a political condition for forming a tough government ahead of the deadline. the coalition. The proposed law includes a High Court override clause that would obstruct the judiciary by allowing the Knesset to re-enact laws that the High Court has overturned.
Last week, Eyal Waldman, founder of Mellanox Technologies, said he had been approached by investors outside of Israel asking questions about reforming the country’s courts.
Alkalay said he has not yet been approached by foreign investors, but added that he expects it to happen “if the justice system is violated.”
When asked about what the top representatives of the business sector wanted to achieve, Alkalay said: “We hope that the next government will reconsider the proposed changes to realize the potential impact that they may not have fully considered. .”
It could harm the national economy, women’s rights, the high-tech sector and the common people, Alkalay warned.
“We hope that public complaints and new and diverse perspectives will lead at least one member of the new cabinet to reconsider their position,” he said.
Among the 110 signatories to the petition signed this week are Zvi Stepak, president of Meitav Investment House and CEO of Ilan Raviv; Amit Mashiach, CEO of advertising company McCann Israel; Israel Makov, former CEO of Teva, and others.
