Israel's government is seeking to give politicians greater sway over selecting judges and to limit the power of the Supreme Court to strike down legislation in reforms that have sparked mass protests. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure at home and abroad, has agreed to delay the overhaul to try to negotiate a middle ground, but demonstrations have continued. Smotrich told a session of parliament's finance committee during a debate on the 2023-24 state budget that Israel's credit outlook was lowered in 2020, but raised in 2022.
"I take the opinion seriously but it's not big drama," he said, noting Moody's had also pointed to a strong economy. Smotrich said he did not "think economists are great experts on the judicial issue," and that any damage to the economy would come from the campaigns against the reforms.
He said the reform plan will bolster Israel's economy.
Data published on Sunday showed that the economy grew an
annualised 5.3% in the fourth quarter from the prior three
months, versus a prior estimate of 5.6%. Israel's economy grew
6.5% in 2022 but the Bank of Israel foresees 2.5% growth this
year.
On the heels of Moody's action, Israeli government bond
prices were down as much as 0.9%, while Tel Aviv share indexes
were down 0.2%. The shekel doesn't trade on Sundays but
it weakened 0.7% versus the dollar in New York on Friday.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
