...and suddenly, most of those who voted Lapid are now shouting"gewald"

half my yearly salary...who are you kidding Lapid...i dont think you are for real...just another rich kid sucking on our blood

of TV star talking heads that make in the 100's of thousands...it is like listening to Mical Micaeli taking about the gov't being run by rich white guys...and what does she know about not having money? What does she know about not having work and needing it? Protection got her and frankly Lapid their positions so it is not remarkable they don't understand the real problems. 20,000? how about 10,000 or 9,000 a month. What are you doing for them? What about people who still want to work but can't find a job it because of age? How about making age discrimination a crime and have real punishments and penalties! How about you learn what you are supposed to do from people who actually know and not your political cronnies!

"They have an apartment and they travel abroad twice a year".........................Mr Lapid ,I dont really think that this is true unless the kids are 40 year olds , living at home and paying board.

Lost in the world of PR.

I hope you know how much survivors of ww2 and people who receive only bituach leumi receive each month. the money most people worked for or is everybody waiting for all the survivors to go to a better place???

I cannot believe he choose that example. Rather pissed off to be honest. I think he needs to come down a bit and live amongst us commoners

she has no need for financial assistance. She's in a very good financial condition and if she was wise, would stop spending money on trips abroad and saving for her children's futures. Selfish woman ! And what about all those I see sitting in cafes and restaurants spending oodles of money on food. Sorry, but it is in my mind that people in Israel are spoiled (except the poor).

It's Mrs. Cohen that pays the most in taxes. That's his point. His point isn't that she wants luxuries she can't afford. His point is that she and her husband work and live under the highest tax burden, yet get nothing back from the system. The young couples and poorer families don't pay in to the system at the same rate as Mrs. Cohen. They just don't. His point wasn't that we should ignore the poor, it was that we should free the middle class from propping up the entire economy in Israel. His point wasn't that we needed a way for people to buy second and third homes, it was that we needed to make sure that these options were available to the middle class and not just the filthy rich. I think he's spot on. When the tax burden for the middle class is lowered, then there will be more opportunity to grow the economy amongst lower income families. He isnt' talking about stealing from the rich, or giving the poor fish instead of teaching to fish. He's talking about improving the lives of the people who give the most and get the least.

Which cloud cuckoo land is Lapid living in? Mrs. Cohen can only afford TWO holidays abroad? Poor sod. many people can't afford even one holiday abroad on their salaries.

20000 Bruto or Netto????

The ones complaining about the poor or Mrs. Cohen being well off are kind of ignorant of how the world works. Once you make 20K a month, then you'll be paying most of the taxes in Israel. The poor don't pay nearly as much due to the graduated tax system. The seniors don't pay any tax. If you treat your most important tax payers as a cow that is being milked dry, then there is no incentive to be in that tax bracket, to be in the country. Once Mrs. Cohen is well off, the rest will follow. Oh, and we make less than 20K a year and are renting an apartment, like another talkbacker, but unlike them I see the bigger picture. I didn't vote for Lapid, but ever since the election I like him more and more.

Say you are a doctor and work at a goverment hospital earning 8000 a month ( yes really, 50 shekels an hour, 40 hr week) and yr spouse earns 7000 as a teacher. That would not be even close to twenty thousand and this is a professional middle class family.

What happens to those like me who earn less 10 000 monthly considering my wife's salary together? Will Mr Lapid consider our situation and similar situations before those earning 20 000 NIS monthly?

Lapid is straying somewhat and that's why Labor needs to join the Coalition on the socioeconomic diplomatic and to improve services and life in the Periphery the Sde Boker movement.who will fund it the committed Galus and a comptroller ought to be appointed to ensure it gets there.The holocaust Justice demands Justice .

News for holocaust survivors, elderly and people earning minimum wages !!!!!!

He was elected to the Knesset, and should begin to function as a political animal in the plenum, in committee, and in his ministry. If we wanted him as a blogger on Facebook, he could have remained a journalist. So far I remain unimpressed.

He cut Bituah Leumi when he was Finance Minister in Sharon's government. Old Age State Pension (Kitzbat Zikna) is NIS1540 per month for a single person plus 2% per year that you paid National Insurance MINUS 10 years and MINUS Health Insurance of NIS192. I know because that's what I get. Many don't know that this gets DEDUCTED from the "Rente" payments Holocaust Survivors get from Germany. That was the agreement in Ben Gurion's time. People who don't have other incomes are the worst hit. Could the people criticizing Lapid, particularly the ones who have run away and live in the Great United States live on NIS1800 per month?

I'm shocked! Families can't afford to buy houses for themselves!! and he's worried about the middle class not being able to afford to give their children a free house of their own? Who needs Arabs to drive Jews out! The Jews will do it all on their own!!! I'm ashamed!!!

We make LOTS more money than 20,000 nis/month, but still can't afford a home here, all while paying taxes through the nose! We use far less electricity here and pay more, we use far less water and pay more (ok, that's a little understandable), pay double for a car, a vacation in Spain is cheaper than staying here in our hotels, etc. In short, our monthly income has stayed the exact same as in America, but funds a much, much, lower standard of living. I'm sorry that there are people actually suffering here, but I don't think they can be helped by legislation. It's simply not fair what the middle class here is expected to pay, and what we get.

... because you're not in the highest tax bracket despite not being super-rich. That's why he's talking about Mrs. Cohen, not your family.

threat to Bibi for Prime Minister . He is so far off track as to highlight a weakness in democracy that lets a layman with no track record in government to be close to the top.

At last we have a finance minister who understands that benefits do not belong to the poor , they are money taken from other people. I fall within the category that he talks of, I work an average of 75 hours a week and I am fed up with paying for people who do not have the minimal level of responsibility to limit their families to the number of children they can afford, expecting the restofusto subsidize them. I am all in favor of a social safety net for those who need one - but that is what social benefits are supposed to be a safety net - not a lifestyle choice,

That was seriously funny. What about the part that says "each one of them has his own Mrs. Cohen – a mother, sister, spouse..." Aren't we lucky? ;)) hehehe

this is the way of thinking which got us into this stage. If you don't earn 10.000.-NIS with 2 salaries you don't pay enough taxes to benefit the country. It sure is hard but you cannot expect to get more for it. The ones paying all here is the middle class.....and in return, they get nothing but hardship. You have to first improve conditions where the country will be able to earn something so in a later stage the ones who pay no taxes can get better as well. we cannot just keep on taking.

"($8.2 million) overdraft" Whaaat? maybe $8.2 billion? 8.2 million is not enough to buy 2 tanks ..

Since Minister Lapid comes from a journalistic background, and a talk show host, he presents idea in similar fashion. It's not his fault; that's all he knows—reducing problems to simplicity and full of symbolism. Whether that will address the very real socio-economic problems that Isreali society faces remains to be seen. But he's not starting off well, is he? BTW, I am a writer with journalistic training, but from Canada