Netanyahu’s Economic Plan Draws Fire From Bank of Israel

(Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s economic stimulus plan drew criticism today from the Bank of Israel, which said that the plan may not be needed and that the government should concentrate on taking steps to boost growth.

The plan was sent to the Bank of Israel only a short time before it was publicized, without enough information to judge its cost, its efficiency or its economic necessity, the central bank said.

Resources should be distributed on the basis of criteria, including the degree to which an individual was harmed by the pandemic, the Bank of Israel said. Grants for every child without first testing for household income, for example, isn’t an efficient to distribute resources, the bank said.

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