Shaul Meridor Head of the budget department - resignes: Minister Katz doesn't allow me to perform

The head of the budget department in the Ministry of Finance, Shaul Meridor, announced his resignation on Sunday evening. "In recent months, and even more so in recent weeks, the ability to perform my duties as head of the budget department has become impossible," Meridor wrote to Minister Israel Katz in his resignation letter.
"Unfortunately, you do not allow me and many other public servants in the various divisions of the Ministry of Finance and other government ministries to do what we know how to do - formulate, propose, analyze and criticize policy measures that will allow the Israeli economy to survive the difficult economic crisis." For effective treatment of the corona plague. "
In the letter of resignation, another Meridor wrote: "I have been asking myself for a long time what is the right thing to do. Even when there were those who called me and my friends 'terrorists' and tried to delegitimize diverse opinions in the public service, I stood firm." He stressed that Katz did not back him up following the statements. "Even when the struggle became personal and ugly, using various social networks and 'shofars', it was clear to me that the personal attacks against me were dwarfed by the importance I attached to the public mission I fulfilled in these difficult days for the Israeli economy."
He wrote: "In recent days, after more and more red lines have been crossed, and elementary rules of budgetary and economic conduct have been shattered, I have decided that I can no longer be part of the system and legitimize the series of wrong decisions: decisions that do not take into account the long-term consequences. The citizens, and the incentives they produce. "
The head of the division noted "Throughout my tenure I have faced challenges at home and abroad, and at the same time I felt I was able to fulfill my role with the good of the state and the economy in front of my eyes and bring the right steps to the economy, even if they were not always popular." : I must maintain my professional truth, not compromise and present it even when it is not pleasant for the decision makers to hear, and at the same time - fully implement the policy of the elected echelon even when it did not suit my position.
"There is no doubt that the role of the political echelon, including the finance minister, is to make decisions and shape policy. But in the same breath, the fundamental wisdom in making complex government decisions is that such decision-making relies on the professional staff work of highly skilled professionals. "I have served under many finance ministers (including the current prime minister as finance minister) and many governments, but I have never encountered such conduct."

Meridor went on to harshly criticize the minister and wrote: "I can not give a hand to the bad conduct that has taken place over the past few months, which all Israeli citizens will pay a heavy price for in the coming years. There is no doubt that your job as finance minister is to lead policy." Orderly and professional experts, of course you can not do this while trampling on rules, ignoring macro data, attempts to change budget estimates in order to produce fictitious sources for allocating additional budgets, and excluding the budget department and other factors such as the office's legal adviser. .
"These days the State of Israel is in one of the most complex economic crises since its inception. The serious economic and health crisis is compounded by the fact that the government has failed to pass a state budget and in fact has not approved a budget since early 2018. "Brave decisions in the long term. It is not enough that there is no budget since 2018, unfortunately until now no decision has been made to formulate and submit a budget for the years 2021-2020 in order to comply with the provisions of the recently amended law," he wrote.
"In days when there is no approved state budget, the Ministry of Finance and its head require extreme care to lead responsible economic policy, which relies on in-depth professional staff work and copes precisely because of the lack of approved frameworks, and approved budget by government and Knesset, with the need for difficult decisions Priorities and in-depth examination of the effectiveness of the policy tools employed during the crisis, instead, the decision-making processes these days are characterized by decision-making influenced by narrow, irrelevant and short-term interests, along with the professional echelon and blatant disregard for professional staff work. "The message to the managers of the Israeli economy for many decades. The message to the business sector, to the citizens of the country and to the world is to break all the principles, frameworks and boundaries, as well as to trample on the values, rules and norms of public service that works for the general public."
At the end of his speech, Meridor, the son of former Finance Minister Dan Meridor, wrote: "I grew up in a home that educated the civil service and the public at almost any cost. I did so out of complete belief that such a mission fulfills extremely lofty values. "I thank the entire government for the great privilege that has fallen to me. I tried to carry out my mission in light of Betar's values ​​and for the entire public. Unfortunately, these values ​​have long been forgotten." Meridor Sr. resigned as finance minister in the Netanyahu government 23 years ago, but Shaul Meridor himself noted that the resignation has nothing to do with his father.
President Reuven Rivlin issued a statement expressing regret over Meridor's resignation: "The difficult step he has taken, and the implications that result from it, worries me greatly. Saul is a first-rate professional, and one of the most dedicated public servants I have had to work with in recent years. Shaul knew how to work for the creation of a professional and responsible solution, and from a considered and relevant perspective. "
In response, Finance Minister Katz said: "Unfortunately, recently out of narrow political considerations, Meridor began to act blatantly and also publicly against government policy and against the policy I led in the Ministry of Finance, so his resignation as head of the budget department is the right move.