Histradrut trade federation chairman Arnon Ben-David sent a scathing letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, urging him to immediately release funds to assist the survival of struggling businesses.
"Compared to the rest of the world, the State of Israel managed to be several step aheads when it comes to health issues, but is lagging far behind in its management of the financial crisis," said Ben-David, calling for immediate assistance for all companies experiencing a 50% drop in turnover.
Otherwise, Ben-David said, "we will witness an economic domino effect that will continue to the door of every family in the country." The resources that the state is refraining from giving to businesses today, he added, will later need to be invested in funding unemployment benefits and rehabilitating an economy in recession.