Coronavirus grant program up for gov't approval on Sunday
Meridor received backlash after he told Netanyahu his plan will “turn us into Venezuela.”
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERI, HAGAY HACOHENIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) sits next to Israel's Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz during a test-run of the new high-speed train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, near Lod, Israel September 20, 2018. (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
The cabinet intends to discuss on Sunday the “grant for every citizen” program, which seeks to provide a financial grant to each citizen amid the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting rise in unemployment, despite criticism against it.The claim was made by Maariv, the sister publication of The Jerusalem Post, citing a source from within the Finance Ministry.The Finance Ministry has also announced it intends to allocate NIS 50 million for professional training in order to allow approximately 7,000 people to be employed in different fields.However, an investigation conducted by Maariv revealed that the funds already exist, but no orderly and up-to-date stimulus program for such a professional retraining exists as of yet.“The ministry is currently formulating a comprehensive program for effective professional training that will provide the best solution for the unemployed,” the Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry told Maariv in response to their inquiry.“The program will emphasize training in collaboration with employers and in accordance with the needs of the economy while finding employment [for participants] and paying unemployment benefits during the training,” the ministry further clarified.Finance Minister Israel Katz slammed his ministry’s director-general Keren Terner Eyal on Saturday evening after she posted a tweet defending the ministry’s Budget Department head Shaul Meridor.“It is not your job to comment and defend the officials,” Katz said, “your job is to carry out the decisions made by the elected officials.”Eyal tweeted that “it is very hard for me to remain silent” when witnessing the “harsh criticism” against the ministry’s officials, mentioning Meridor by name as an example of an official she feels was unjustly criticized.Last week, when discussing Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to offer checks to all Israelis amid the coronavirus crisis and rising unemployment, Meridor warned Netanyahu that giving money this way “will turn us into Venezuela.”
Reports about Netanyahu’s rage, and Likud tweets accusing Meridor of attempting to undermine the decisions of elected officials, soon followed.The grant plan was announced by Netanyahu and Katz throughout the last week, and was reported to have originally been designated for the seventh percentile and below alone.They decided to make it for everyone in an attempt to shorten the bureaucratic process.The plan stands at NIS 6 billion and was heavily criticized, as many could not understand why wealthier people and families are in need of such a grant.Meanwhile, Katz suspended funding for government welfare programs which designate funds for charities that help the needy, homeless, Holocaust survivors, victims of sexual abuse and other such populations.The ending of this aid was to prevent the funds from reaching asylum seekers, according to Haaretz, citing government sources.Katz’s decision, according to Haaretz, came after he told his legal advisor he was concerned that some of the charities being funded through the program “carry out activities contrary to the values and policies of the government.”Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son, lashed out at the economic officials of the government in an Instagram post on Saturday, claiming that they are “‘terrorizing’ and not transferring funds to self-employed people and to citizens so as to stir up the nation.”He called the actions of the finance officials “a doubt... against Netanyahu’s policy.”His comments, according to Israel’s N12 News, came one day after Netanyahu lashed out at the head of the Budget Department in the Finance Ministry, Shaul Meridor, for opposing the aforementioned grant program.
