We prioritize survival over PR

The French newspaper Le Figaro published today (Wednesday) in its issue an extensive interview with Economy Minister Nir Barkat in which the minister referred to the war in the Gaza Strip as well as to his public and political activities. Barkat said during the interview that Israeli propaganda during the war was lacking because “we give priority to our survival over our public relations”.

According to Minister Barkat: “Every wave of violence is usually accompanied by a slowdown in the economy. There are almost 300,000 reservists who, instead of going to work, have to defend their country. There is a strong correlation between the technology industry in Israel and the people who serve as officers or soldiers in combat units. That is why there is a slowdown in the economy our”.

Minister Barkat added: “We entered the war with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60%. Today the ratio is probably around 70%, which leaves the Israeli economy at the top of the ranking of Western countries. After a war, there is always an increase in innovation and people who avoided investing return to investing. This will happen when we eradicate the risk associated with Hamas. We are probably three quarters of the way there.”