Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s incoming finance minister, assured on Wednesday that he would implement broad policies based on free-market principles, seeking to allay fears that he would base economic decisions on biblical precepts, Reuters reported.

Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, previously said his economic strategy would be “infused” with the religious commandments laid out in the Torah, the Jewish holy book consisting of the first 5 books of the Old Testament, predicting that they would help the country prosper.

But now he said in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal titled “Israel’s New Government Is Not What You Heard” that he would take a different approach after taking office with the inauguration of a new executive president, Benjamin Netanyahu, the winner. parliamentary elections last month.

“I will pursue a broad free market policy. They include removing government price controls and import restrictions that have limited competition and kept prices high for consumers, as well as regulatory reforms and loosening bureaucratic controls on small businesses,” he wrote.

Israel’s new finance minister promises an “American” liberal policy

Smotrich also said he would take inspiration from US labor laws and introduce similar measures to reduce unionization in Israel, including banning strikes in key public services.

He charged that the “traditionalist bloc” with which Netanyahu ran in the elections had been “demonized” by the American media, arguing that “in fact, we seek to strengthen the freedoms of every citizen and the democratic institutions of the country, bringing Israel closer to the liberal model of America (.. .) and economic opening of the country”.

His comments came after Israel’s current finance minister, Avigor Lieberman, warned on Tuesday that the incoming government would be “very socialist” due to deals between a coalition involving SHAS and Torah Unity, two ultra-Orthodox parties.

Lieberman, a former Netanyahu ally who served as finance minister for the past 18 months, accused the Oneness of the Torah doctrine of being at odds with the market economy.

Harsh accusations against Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition

“It’s just taking money, taking money, taking money instead of creating money. These new deals will eventually lead to the collapse of the Israeli economy,” he warned, referring to the prospect of increased subsidies for ultra-Orthodox Jews, who typically do not work and are exempt from mandatory military service in Israel.

Lieberman also warned that increasing funding to religious schools that do not teach basic subjects such as math or English, a measure agreed in Netanyahu’s coalition, would undermine “the ability to enter the labor market in the future.”

His comment was a direct reference to a statement by the ultra-Orthodox leader, who said in October that learning maths and English had no direct impact on the economy.

Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is serving as caretaker prime minister until Netanyahu’s inauguration, said he expected next year to be “very bad” for the Israeli economy, also citing concerns about the claims of ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition Netanyahu