Reform of Financial Markets in Israel

Reform Plans
30 May ’04

ICSEP has circulated the following letter together with a PowerPoint presentation: “A Competitive Capital Market – A Growth Engine for the Israeli Economy”.

Dear friends,

Enclosed is a draft document on the reform of financial markets in Israel.

We hope it explains why such a reform is so vital for Israel’s viability, and why Israel needs a strong economy to meet the extraordinary threats and challenges facing it.

Finance Minster Benjamin Netanyahu has embarked recently on such a reform. The banks and other powerful vested interests will, however, do all they can to prevent the reform from being implemented. They have already started trying to have it indefinitely postponed and to whittle away at it. They will use every legal maneuver possible to block it. They will offer counterproposals that make the reform ineffectual, and they will pressure the government and lobby the Knesset for support for their proposals.

The group that formulated the reform plan, consisting of businessmen, economists, former public servants and academicians, a group that is growing daily, is determined to help the Minister of Finance see the reform through and accomplish its vital purposes.

To this end it has been engaging in a public relations effort to both explain the merit of the reform to Israeli citizens, and to counteract the immense drive financed by the banks to discredit its main premises.

Our group is also trying to gain support from internationally recognized individuals and bodies that will vouch for the viability of the reform plan and counteract the opinion of the many hired hands that the banks are recruiting in order to discredit it professionally. A similar effort is also underway in Israel.

Since past experience indicates that the opponents will also employ legal tactics against the reform, the group has spun off a group of jurists who will try to anticipate and counteract such delaying legal tactics and other legal objections designed to nix the reform.

At the moment the reform initiative enjoys wide political support among Knesset members. But there is little doubt that its opponents will try to reduce such support and undermine it. Our group is determined to do all it can to preserve political support for the reform by lobbying Knesset members and by appealing to decision makers and public opinion leaders to assure its enactment and implementation.

What we ask our friends is to lend us both moral and financial support.

A letter to Finance Minister Netanyahu encouraging him to pursue the reform will strengthen his hand. A contribution to this effort will enable us to not be hopelessly outgunned by the very wealthy interest groups that oppose reform.

Since as a tax-exempt organization ICSEP is not allowed to engage in political lobbying, our group has formed a not for profit organization called “Citizens for True Social Justice” that will do the lobbying work. Contributions to this group can be made by another tax exempt entity (details available on request).

Should you be interested we would be happy to supply you with further details about our proposed operations, as well as detailed budgets. Our goal is to raise about $500,000 (of which we raised nearly $200,000), a modest sum considering that similar initiatives have cost about $5 million to put through.

Sincerely,

Daniel Doron

All recent program activities

Speeches
US VIP group
24 Nov ’09

Israel’s Prosperity, Peace Depend on Economic Reform

Until the Intifadah and the Oslo agreements, a non-political process of economic collaboration was leading to a gradual reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, explains ICSEP President Daniel Doron in a talk sponsored by the America-Israel Friendship League. That process can now resume, Doron argues, helped by economic reform within Israel.

Speeches
Gilder/Forbes Telecosm 2009 Conference
10 Nov ’09
Tarrytown House Estate, Tarrytown, New York

Israel’s Prosperity, Peace Depend on Economic Reform

Speeches
NCPA Dinner
11 Apr ’08
Dallas, Texas

Opening Remarks to Introduce Binyamin Netanyahu

ICSEP President Daniel Doron introduces future Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu at an NCPA dinner in Dallas, Texas.

Speeches
27 Jun ’07
Merage Forum

Remarks for the Merage Forum on Education

“Past reforms have focused on asking for more money for education,” ICSEP President Daniel Doron noted in his speech to the Merage Forum on education.

“This despite the fact that Israel is already spending the highest proportion of GDP on education in the West.

“Yet, despite a steady growth in expenditures, standards and achievements have shown little improvement; in fact they have further deteriorated.”

Speeches
25 Jun ’07
Strategic Forums Sponsored by Paul Merage

Opening Remarks at the Strategic Forums Sponsored by Paul Merage

“Before I continue with my remarks, let me sound an optimistic note,” said Daniel Doron, ICSEP President, in his opening remarks to the Strategic Forums Sponsored by Paul Merage.

“You will hear voices say that attempts to reform Israel are futile, that you cannot initiate significant changes here.

“We know better.”

The high-powered conference was held to explore ways of encouraging Israeli high-tech to meet the serious challenges facing it and to continue flourishing.

Memos
10 Aug ’05

Finance Ministry thanks ICSEP

After the financial market reform was ratified by the Knesset, the director general of the finance ministry wrote to ICSEP director Daniel Doron. “Thank you for the support and encouragement that you and your colleagues gave us throughout the process,” he wrote.

Memos
4 Aug ’05

Finance Minister thanks ICSEP for helping historic market reform

After the passage of historic capital market and tax reform bills, Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wrote to ICSEP director Daniel Doron to thank ICSEP for “truly invaluable assistance in helping bring about this important reform.”

Guests
8 Jul ’05

Binyamin Netanyahu

“In 10 years, Israel could be one of the 10 richest countries in the world,” Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told guests at ICSEP’s first annual United States Awards Dinner.

Milton Friedman expressed similar beliefs to those assembled at New York’s St Regis Hotel: “Israel has the potential of being the Hong Kong of the Middle East,” he said in his video address.

During dinner, Israel’s minister of economic affairs in America, Ron Dermer, presented the awards.

Speeches
Republican Jewish Coalition
25 May ’05
Washington, DC

Israel’s survival, peace, depend on economic prosperity

“Most of you have visited Israel,” ICSEP president Daniel Doron began his address to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington on May 25th.

“You saw a vibrant, seemingly well-to-do country.

“You ate at posh restaurants full of prosperous Israelis, visited their impressive villas and saw their expensive cars.

“And yet, Israel, chock-full of human talent and energy, a world-class high-tech leader, seems in perpetual economic trouble.

“If the country is to survive it must reform its economic system, and do it soon.”

Read the entire speech.

Memos
16 Oct ’04

Economics editor requests pardon from ICSEP

On the eve of Yom Kippur this year, Sever Plotzker, chief economic and social editor of the very influential Yediot Achronot, requested a pardon from seven parties whom he thought “were not given the credit they deserved” and “to whom the Israeli economy owes quite a bit.” Among them was ICSEP.