Netanyahu and I Enter the History Books: Minister Yisrael Katz Explains Why I Listen

November 15, 2020   

Finance Minister Yisrael Katz spoke today (Sunday) with Anat Davidov and Golan Yochpaz on 103FM about the decision by credit rating company S&P to leave Israel's credit rating unchanged. Suffering from underlying medical conditions? You may be entitled to a lot of money from National Insurance. Did you follow the Prime Minister's Twitter this weekend? No. I followed the important news we received at 11:00 PM on Friday, when the New York Stock Exchange closed, that the credit rating company S&P decided to keep our credit rating at a high level. They praised the State of Israel for its performance, and apparently understand a little more than those 'authorized experts' who predicted the economic collapse of the State of Israel. What happened is that the Prime Minister's Twitter took Globes' news about the matter, and while the original article had a picture of you, because you were the one who received the credit, when the Prime Minister published the news he cut out your picture and put a picture of himself. What do you think about that?  I am not following this. The Prime Minister and I are essentially leading the Israeli economy in a safe and correct way. On the one hand, extensive assistance is being granted to the unemployed, the self-employed, and employees, and on the other hand, I am making sure with the entire Ministry of Finance that the credit framework and the budget framework will be maintained. Minister Katz, doesn't this bother you? It's impossible that you didn't notice this matter. It really doesn't bother me. As I said, we lead the economy and the decision of the credit rating company, one of the leading in the world, to leave Israel's rating at the same level is a certificate of honor. I want to say that they don't have much sentiment because Canada, Italy, and a few other countries had their ratings cut. You know that with this, no one can go to the grocery store. There is no budget, the top of the treasury is crumbling, so what exactly were they impressed with there?  It turns out that this company has no sentiments and is investigating deeply, and this is the result. But we work without a budget, so how come such an important credit rating company doesn't address this? You don't know how, but they look at the entire framework: the plans, the ports, the railways, about peace, they look at the entire framework and only in this way do they determine whether the State of Israel will be able to recover and the answer is yes. I say again - this was a winning answer to all those 'authorized commentators' who just the other day sat in studios and said that our rating is going to drop, that the economy is collapsing and that the Ministry of Finance is crumbling. Neither bears nor a forest. What does it even matter to the hundreds of thousands of unemployed people listening to you this morning? מה משנה להם מאוד כי אנחנו נותנים להם תוכניות סיוע נרחבות שגם הם ראו אותן בחיוב ולא אמרו כמו שכאן אומרים 'מבזבזים כספים'. דבר שני, זה בעצם מאפשר לנו להמשיך ולגייס כסף זול ואשראי זול, ובכך לתת לתושבי ישראל ולעסקים להמשיך להתקיים ולהתפתח בתקופת המעבר הזו. אם היו מורידים את הדרוג זה היה נותן מכה קשה לאשראי ומייקר את הכל. אנחנו עובדים נכון לחזק את התשתית הכלכלית של מדינת ישראל, ומי שטוען את ההפך טוען את זה או מחוסר ידיעה או משיקולים פוליטיים. מסתבר שחברת דירוג האשראי לא מתרגשת מעזיבתו של גדול הדור מרידור שעזב את משרד האוצר. הם דיברו עם כל מי שצריך לדבר, מהכלכלנית הראשית ועד לחשב הכללי ולנגיד בנק ישראל, הם דיברו גם איתי ושאלו שאלות נוקבות וחשובות. Do you know what the unemployed are really asking this morning? Why is the Minister of Finance busy with someone who leaked things about him and said he was Herod, and is using his assistants to take phone screen shots, and is talking like that about Shaul Meridor. Tell me, is this what you think will bring them a living? תראה, אני אגיד לך בדיוק מה הם אומרים הבוקר: הם אומרים כל הכבוד לשר האוצר הזה, על זה שהוא מצפצף על הביקורת הלא עניינית, שנותן לנו דמי אבטלה עד אמצע שנה הבאה ולא אומר שהם לא רוצים לעבוד. למרות כל הביקורת אני קודם כל דואג למובטלים, לעצמאים, ולבעלי העסקים. לגביי עניין הפקידים אגיד בצורה ברורה שמדובר כאן בעניין של משילות. אני מקיים דיונים רבים עם אנשי מקצוע, וכל אחד אומר את דעתו, אבל ברגע שמתקבלת ההחלטה העניין צריך להסתיים ויש לקבל את המדיניות של הממשלה שקיבלה את האמון הציבורי. So there is no governance in the Treasury? The officials do whatever they want?  No, and I'm making sure not. Maybe there were years when it was like that, but it's not happening now. Discussions yes, decisions yes, but as soon as a decision is made and there is a policy.. Minister of Finance, maybe you don't know how to manage them? Maybe you don't know how to operate them?  You know... the difference between me and all sorts of people who present themselves with imaginary business cards is that my business card is imprinted on the soil of this country, on its roads, its ports, and its open skies. Who do you mean? To all the people who say they did and will do and maybe... I say go out onto the roads, and see how I connected the Galilee and the Negev with roads and trains, see the open sky... Minister of Finance, you are not answering our questions. You are looking for the piquantness, and I am talking about the essence here. No. We are asking a question and want to know who you mean. For all kinds of people. Who are these people? תגידו, בפוליטיקה חסר אנשים? הרי הם באים ואומרים 'אנחנו נעשה ואנחנו נעשה', בשעה שאני באמת עשיתי. עשיתי מול האיומים הכי קשיים והלחצים הכי קשים שהיו כאן. אני יכול להגיד לכם בצורה ברורה שראש הממשלה נתניהו ואני נכנס להיסטוריה היהודית בתור בוני הנמלים הכי גדולים בתולדות ארץ ישראל. נבנו כאן נמלים, ושודרגו הנמלים הקיימים, ומדינת ישראל הולכת להפוך למרכז בינלאומי של תובלה ימית. תשמעו, אני לא הורדוס, ובוודאי שלא בניתי כמוהו, לא בניתי את המקדש, אני גם לא שלמה המלך שהיה החכם באדם וידע את שפת החיות, אני בקושי יודע לקרוא לכלב שאבי הנחמד שלנו לבוא ולהצטרף אליי לטיול. בואו תהיו רציניים רגע. Tell me, do you intend to fire the firm's legal advisor? Listen, I'm not personally pursuing anyone, but when a legal advisor sits in the Corona cabinet and leaks things I said and gives them this or that shade and touch, that's a fact, and that's a serious fact. I'm not authorized to fire a legal advisor, and it's the responsibility of the Attorney General to decide what to do. We also want to talk to you about the Pfizer affair. The Prime Minister achieved this as a tremendous achievement when you did not close the contract with the company, and you paid 120 million shekels for the efforts of a company that promises you nothing.  I won't go into details, and by the way, the one leading the negotiations is the Ministry of Health, while the Finance Ministry is accompanying it in all budgetary aspects. No one messed up here, there were contacts, and at the critical moment in the discussion in which I participated, the issue of the Prime Minister having the ability to limit the supply of the vaccine at early dates was highlighted. Now, you have to understand that the form of engagement is always conditional. I think that following the Prime Minister's talks, a big thing happened here - the commitment was tightened. Finally, why aren't the malls open? I fought for the opening of street shops and am currently seeking to uphold the decision of the Corona Cabinet to open the markets, open shopping centers, and malls that know how to protect themselves. The thing is that health officials come to meetings and make decisions, and the Prime Minister reprimanded them at the last meeting - there is no such thing as someone informing in advance that I do and I don't. We all need to rely on the decisions, and be harnessed together to protect health.