Secrets of the Israeli treasury
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Stav Shaffir of the Labor Party reveals the treasury’s concealed budget transfers to the settlements, but her Google generation isn’t fooled by lack of government transparency.
Stav Shaffir, who turns 29 in May, is the youngest member of the Knesset. Yet she rounds out March with an impressive record of parliamentary achievements. First, she established a new parliamentary lobby to defend the rights of people renting apartments, and became one of the lobby’s leaders. This was followed by a decision from the Housing Cabinet, led by Finance Minister Yair Lapid, to adopt her proposed “fair rental” law.
Shaffir was a main hero of summer 2011's tent protests, which erupted because of the housing crisis facing her and her fellow students. Since then, she has become an especially prominent Knesset member for the Labor Party, notably on the Finance Committee, where she operates as a guerrilla warrior for social issues. Like a girl in a candy store, Shaffir is amazed at the secrets she discovered when she decided to “follow the money.” According to her, she found most of it across the Green Line.
In an interview with Al-Monitor she explains why the prime minister and his Cabinet will have to adapt to the demands of her generation: “We are the generation of Google and Facebook. We know what is happening in the world, and we can’t accept a situation in which information is being hidden from us.”
Al-Monitor: So, is that what happened to Finance Minister Yair Lapid this week? He realized that if he doesn’t do something big to burst the real estate bubble, he would disappear?
