At a party meeting for Yesh Atid, Chairman Yair Lapid, apologized for convening a press conference from the doorway of his home on the Sabbath of September 20. He stated, “I was wrong. Although I personally work on the Sabbath, it was not right that I caused other people to work on the Sabbath.”
Lapid opened the meeting by reviewing the plan for the state budget. After weeks of debate and a final compromise between himself and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the plan is expected to be approved this week by the government coalition, as a first step toward approval in the Knesset.
“This coming Tuesday the Israeli government will meet to approve the state budget for 2015. I remind everyone that less than two years ago our economy was in danger of collapse, with a deficit forecast at more than five percent. The fact that after such a short period of time we were able to strengthen the economy and reaffirm our credit rating, should be a certification of trust,” Lapid said.
“The steps we have taken are such that allow us now to submit a budget which improves the social programs and services to the public, without tax increases.”
Lapid emphasized that “We have put forth a budget plan with significant additions not only for security, but to social programs as well. We have devoted 2.2 billion shekels to improve education, and the health budget will increase by 2.6 billion. 1.4 billion is to be added to the welfare budget, and 1 billion will be added to the Ministry of Public Security – all the aspects that affect the daily lives of the citizens of Israel, from the weaker strata to the middle class. “
“The budgets allocated to different social services will have significant additions beyond the natural growth,” he added.
Lapid noted further that “We have deeply invested in this budget and the growth of the economy by encouraging the entry of hareidi Jews to the workforce, investing in small businesses, and adding thousands of high-paying jobs to the high-tech industry. This budget will also reduce the cost of living, food prices and electricity costs, on which we are cooperating on with energy minister, Silvan Shalom.”
Lapid announced that the VAT law will be 0, along with other measures to repair the housing crisis. “For years, no one here has done anything in relation to the housing crisis, but now we’re changing the situation. We came to work, not just to criticize.”
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