Eisenkot brands Netanyahu's digital finance pivot a route to economic ruin
The Yashar party leader argues that the prime minister's push for alternative financial mechanisms puts 150 billion shekels of national savings in danger.
By Ishani Kapalli ·
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed that Israel prepare for a shift toward alternative financial mechanisms, a move his political rival Gadi Eisenkot has framed as a concession of economic failure. The dispute centers on Netanyahu's recent comments regarding the need to adapt to international sanctions, which the opposition is now using to question the stability of the country's currency.
On Saturday, Eisenkot, the chairman of the Yashar party, released a campaign video on the social media platform X. The advertisement begins with the warning that all national money is at risk. It then cuts to footage from a prior interview on Channel 10, where Netanyahu stated that Israel must prepare for an alternative economy. The former IDF chief argues that this pivot signals that the prime minister has economically destroyed the country.
A major focus of the criticism is the role of blockchain technology in Netanyahu's strategy. The prime minister acknowledged in the interview that digital finance would certainly form part of his plan and noted that he had already requested a specific plan be prepared for that purpose. Eisenkot's team responded by labeling the concept Bibicoin, a term they argue illustrates the volatility and risk associated with the proposal.
The video claims that adopting an alternative system would create an economy resembling those of North Korea and Iran. It asserts that such a shift would mark the end of the high-tech sector, healthcare, and national security. The advertisement also questions how global investors would deposit capital into Israeli companies if digital currency became the sole method of transaction.
In a separate post on X, Eisenkot addressed the issue directly. He wrote that Netanyahu himself admits his policy will lead to international isolation and economic sanctions that shake the market. The Yashar leader described this trajectory as the collapse of national security. He urged the public not to let the prime minister burn through the country's savings.
The exchange places the prime minister's economic contingency planning at the center of the current political debate. Eisenkot is using Netanyahu's own words from the Channel 10 interview as the foundation for his critique, turning the discussion from a technical financial question into a fight over economic survival.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
