For the first time since he entered his position, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich attended a meeting of the Knesset’s Finance Committee on Tuesday morning.

Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni thanked Smotrich for revoking the tax on disposable tableware imposed by former minister Avigdor Lieberman: “I congratulate you on your election to the position of finance minister, one of the most important positions in the State of Israel and the government. I congratulate you and wish you the best of luck as your success is the success of all of us. I congratulate you for signing the order to cancel the tax on disposables.”

The committee was holding a discussion on the tax authorities’ demands on freelancers to return the grants they received during the COVID pandemic. During the debate, Tzemeret Avivi, a secular freelancer representative, excoriated former finance minister Avigdor Lieberman: “Come let’s learn from Gafni how to do it. Here’s a finance minister who doesn’t sit and drink coffee in front of me while I cry…there was no listening ear in the government of ‘change.'”

Avivi was referring to a meeting of the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee that took place almost a year ago which focused on the economic difficulties faced by freelancers during the COVID pandemic. During the meeting, Avivi was treated with great scorn by the coalition members at the discussion, driving her to tears. Avivi then tearfully addressed Lieberman directly as he apathetically sat there sipping a hot drink, begging him for assistance, saying that independent teachers were out of work for months during the multiple school closures. However, Lieberman was impervious to her pleas and the Chareidi MKs present at the meeting were the only ones that tried to comfort her and slammed Lieberman for his apathy – calling on him to resign.

Avivi later said in an interview with Kol B’Ramah that her support for the “change” government was a big mistake. “I supported [Gideon Sa’ar’s] New Hope, the establishment of this government – I made a mistake. It’s a fraudulent government. I would expect New Hope representatives to fight for us. Sa’ar should go to Lieberman and knock on the table, to demand compensation for the self-employed. But all they worry about is their positions.”

“We need to apologize to Netanyahu and [former Finance Minister] Yisrael Katz,” she asserted. “I’m saying from here thank you to the previous government for your help. No one is perfect but they did a lot for us, provided us with oxygen. Today we receive nothing.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)