'We don’t want to be Sparta' - Israeli business leaders slam Netanyahu for 'super-Sparta' remarks, say we want peace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing backlash from the Israel Business Forum (IBF), representing workers from 200 of Israel’s largest companies, for isolating the country from the rest of the world. On Monday, Netanyahu warned that amid criticism from the world for its actions in Gaza, it might have to be become a self-reliant economy with “autarkic characteristics” and a kind of “super-Sparta.” He was faced with an uphill task of defending his words and himself in front of the opposition and top business leaders of the country. The IBF hit back at Netanyahu's "super-Sparta" stance, and declared that “We are not Sparta”, Times of Israel reported. The leaders added that Netanyahu’s policies were pushing the country “towards a political, economic, and social abyss that will endanger our existence in Israel.” Notably, Netanyahu's Monday speech and the IDF’s Gaza City offensive led to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange seeing a massive dip.

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Netanyahu angers Israeli business community with “isolation” remarks

The prime minister faced anger from the business community, who said they had had enough of the tensions and wanted peace. Arnon Bar-David, the head of the Histadrut trade union federation, said, "I don’t want to be Sparta… We deserve peace. Israeli society is exhausted, and our status in the world is very bad." Meanwhile, Netanyahu tried to appease the businessmen by stating that he had complete confidence in the Israeli economy. He added that the fall in the stock market was simply because of a “misunderstanding". Netanyahu said the dip "didn't shake us." Netanyahu also invited the ire of the opposition on his "isolation" comments. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid asked what he meant by saying that Israel was “becoming” isolated. "Did some higher power cause this?” Lapid asked in a speech at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. "You caused this. You are the main cause of the diplomatic isolation," he said.

Israel might have to rely solely on its own weapons: Netanyahu

Netanyahu clarified that his Monday speech was mostly "political at its core" and not about the larger economy. He stated that the area where there could be restrictions, "not economic ones, but political at their core", was in the "defence industries." The prime minister said that the country is aiming to be self-reliant in defence, and should be ready to "defend itself with its own forces and with its own weapons," warning that there could be more "political restrictions during the war", as encountered before.

He made many more claims to push forward his case that Israel was not witnessing any downfall. Netanyahu told the leaders that the shekel (Israeli currency) was stronger than it was before the war. He added that the stock market was performing at record levels, and unemployment was at a historic low, and the country had seen huge foreign investment recently. "My remarks were on the attempt to restrict the import of parts, components, weapons, or raw materials," he told the gathered business leaders.