Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed yesterday (Monday) the growing mass popular protests over the high cost of living in Israel and for social justice, saying that Jabotinsky “believed in a competitive market” and explicitly wrote that “Israel’s economy must be a free market”.

Netanyahu spoke during a special Knesset session to commemorate 71 years to the death of Zionist right-wing leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and used Jabotinsky’s words to justify a capitalist economy.

demonstration in Tel-Aviv. “Sushi-eaters” and “nargila smokers with guitars” according to Likud politicians (Photo: Activestills)

Over the past two and a half weeks hundreds of thousands Israelis have been taking to the streets in protest of the high cost of living, demanding social justice. “Businesswomen and men are an integral part of our economy. The added value comes from the private sector. Therefore the government must encourage competition but there is no need to limit the individual’s freedom. We must sparingly and responsibly correct the falsifications so that we do not fall from the tree from which we pick our fruit.” continued Netanyahu.

At a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We must beware of simplistic statements claiming that it is possible to make cuts to the defense budget.”

Following the protest leaders’ demands for a change in priorities, ending privatization and a transfer of funds to the education, welfare and health systems, Netanyahu emphasized: “If Israel doesn’t proceed responsibly in the financial context, we will find ourselves in the same situation as Greece and Spain.”  At that point Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin interrupted and remarked sarcastically that “any time defense budget cuts are mentioned the defense budget gets an increase.”

At a meeting of the Likud faction, MKs and mayors mocked the protesters. Deputy Negev and Galilee Development Minister Ayoub Kara called them “sushi-eaters,” and Nesher Mayor David Amar called them “nargila smokers with guitars.”