Zelekha Says Economic Plan Would Save Families NIS 2,000 Monthly

Prof. Yaron Zelekha, chairman of the Economic Party, said his program would save an average family with two children about NIS 25,000 a year, or NIS 2,000 a month. He said Israel's cost of living is 35%-40% above Western Europe and the United States and pledged to cut the gap by at least 10 percentage points within two years. His proposals include opening banking, insurance and food markets to competition, expanding VAT- and customs-free personal imports, and barring Tnuva and Strauss from controlling dairy imports. The figures are Zelekha's projections and were not independently verified.