"I have no problem with Netanyahu going to speak at the US Congress, it might even be important," Kahlon said during a visit to the Phoenicia Glass Works Factory in Yeruham. "But it's recommended that he went through places like the Phoenicia factory and see the real plight of Israeli citizens, who don't care about right or left - they care about making ends meet."
The Phoenicia factory ran into difficulties last year because of a delay in connecting it to the natural gas pipeline.
The Kulanu leader asserted that the Netanyahu government has been neglecting the Israeli industry in the periphery. "High cost of living and low salaries have led Israel to become a world leader in social gaps. The Israeli industry is the backbone of the market, but in recent governments, not even one minister took care of the industry," he said.
"The Phoenicia factory is an example of natural gas' contribution to the Israeli industry. A factory that only a few years ago was on the verge of closing because of the government's negligence in failing to bring natural gas here, today has been rehabilitated and even increased its production lines."
Kahlon also mentioned the closure of the Arad towel factory in October, which led to the firing of its 180 employees. "If the government of Israel made sure natural gas got to the Arad towel factory like it eventually got here (to Phoenicia), we wouldn't have seen the government deceiving the residents, promising for years to open other factories. At the moment, all we see is unemployed people."