Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recently announced increasingly tight measures restricting entry into Israel and curtailing economic activity in preparation for an expected fifth wave of the COVID 19 virus set off by the appearance of the Omicron variant.

Prof. Yaron Zelekha, who served as Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance from 2003-2007, and is currently President of the Supreme Academic Council and Head of the Accounting Department at Ono Academic College, was interviewed about this subject on the “Bottom Line” program broadcast on Israel Army Radio’s Galei Tzahal station.

Prof. Zelekha questioned the wisdom of locking down the country in advance of the fifth wave in light of data indicating that such measures have been ineffective around the world and the fact that a lockdown will cause certain and severe economic damage to many sectors in Israeli society.  These considerations take on even more weight in light of the experts’ assessment that fully vaccinated people are at very low risk of severe illness from the new Omicron variant.  Prof. Zelekha noted that Germany has a promising economic model for dealing with the Corona epidemic and added that he submitted a proposal to the government explaining how to implement this model in Israel.

To listen to the entire interview, click here: