In a special interview with "Globes", former Excellence-Nessuah chief economist Shlomo Maoz talks about his decision to run in the joint Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list in the upcoming elections.
"Globes": Has Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consulted with you?
Maoz: "He sometimes talks with me. When Excellence-Nessuah fired me, he called me to offer me support. And there was no connection with elections then."
Why the Likud?
"Because I think that Netanyahu has done a great job, in contrast to those who are constantly busy vilifying him. I believe and am sure, not because I feel like this, but because that is what the facts show and the numbers show, and I can prove this unequivocally that everything is vilification.
"We're among the world's seven or eight strongest economies, and only a strong economy can help the poor and the needy who cannot work or find it hard to work, the handicapped, and new immigrants. Every healthy person should work. Only a strong economy can have the military power to protect the country. Without a strong economy, we haven’t a chance. And we have a strong economy now, with GDP per capita of $32,000, and a rising standard of living even during the current crisis. We've grown 7.3% over the past four years. That's amazing."
Maoz said, "I'm not screwed, and I never said that I was. I didn’t come from a broken home, but from a strong neighborhood and a strong home. I've never lacked for anything. But I favor real social justice. I got that from my mother, from my father, from my justice-pursuing sisters, and from my brother, Dr. Ilan Maoz, a well-known seeker of justice. When I talk about discrimination, it has nothing to do with me at all."
You're a provocateur who enjoys attacking "values", blacks and whites, young "parasites", Supreme Court judges, the Ashkenazim at Bank Leumi. Parties have significance in the Knesset, and you must shut up when your partners fail. Has Netanyahu asked you to restrain yourself?
"Absolutely not. He told me, 'Shlomo, be yourself. I love you as you are.' I know Netanyahu and he knows me. I've been talking with him for ten years. I greatly admire him."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 1, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012