Israeli tech entrepreneurs donned T-shirts reading “Save Our Democracy” after the New York Stock Exchange opened on Thursday in protest at Israel’s judicial overhaul.
Representatives of the organization “Israeli Mapped in New York”, which monitors Israeli businesses in New York, had indeed been invited to ring the opening bell.
After ringing the bell, Guy Franklin and his fellow entrepreneurs donned their T-shirts.
“Obviously the feelings are mixed,” Franklin told i24news.
“But just seeing entrepreneurs and businesses proves that Israeli tech is firmly rooted here in New York, and not just in Israel. Their founders will do anything to succeed, which is why feelings are mixed today, but it’s also a tribute to Israel’s innovative capabilities. »
Tech workers in Israel are numerous in the processions of giant demonstrations against the coalition’s judicial reform program, which they fear will endanger democracy and push investors to withdraw their capital.
The rating agency Moody’s Investors Service also issued a warning on Tuesday of the “negative consequences” and the “significant risk” for Israel’s economy and security, following the adoption of the first law of judicial reform.
She added that some of her concerns about the impact of the reform on the Israeli economy were already beginning to materialize, such as the drop in venture capital investment in the tech sector.
“I think everyone is feeling the pinch,” Cyera CEO and founder Yotam Segev, who was at the New York Stock Exchange, told i24.
“When people make substantial investments, they want to be sure that it’s a good investment, a safe investment. Today, investors are worried, they don’t understand what is happening in Israel, they are asking more and more questions. They wonder about where they want to invest their capital, about the outlook for the economy. In my eyes, what the government is doing makes it all very complicated, much more than in the last ten or even twenty years,” he added.
Itamar Ben Hemo, CEO and Founder of Rivery, said “It’s not easy what happens with the government”, on both sides, adding that his teams stick together in this time of strong dissension .
The coalition adopted on Monday the law depriving judges of the power to annul government decisions deemed “unreasonable”. The law went into effect on Wednesday.
Opponents of the law say it weakens the Court’s ability to protect civil rights and will significantly hamper its ability to protect senior officials who hold (highly) sensitive positions, such as the Attorney General, Chief of the Israel Police and the State’s Attorney, against dismissals for improper reasons, thus politicizing these roles.
The coalition affirms for its part that the prohibition of recourse to doctrine is necessary to put an end to what it calls judicial interference in the policy of a government elected by unelected judges. They believe the Court has used it too frequently, subverting the will of the electorate and undermining the principle of democratic majority rule.
TIMES OF ISRAEL. COPYRIGHTS.
2023-07-30 04:33:57
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