Tel-Chai Nation

The Hebrew edition of Forbes magazine has a report showing that Kadima is really a tool for rich elitists. From Israel National News:

Forbes Israel reported Sunday that twelve business groups control Israel's economy - making it among the most concentrated on the globe. The report echoes warnings by journalist Ari Shavit.

According to the report, the business groups are controlled by the following families: Sami Ofer, Nochi Dankner, Shari Arison, the Cerberus-Gabriel consortium, Charles Bronfman, Yitzchak Tshuva, the Saban group, Lev Leviev, Matthew Bronfman, Tzadik Bino, the Borovich family, and Eliezer Fishman. The 12 families own 60 percent of the aggregate market value of all Israeli public companies (excluding the even larger Teva Pharmaceutical Industries), Forbes reported.

The report goes on to say that the families have constructed their empires, which consist of Israel's largest companies, using organizational structures that have long ago been done away with in the Western world.

The report explains that the groups have an inordinate amount of control over Israel's economy, political leaders and media due to the structuring of their holdings as pyramids – meaning several layers of companies each own others beneath them but are all beholden to the leading families. Such a phenomenon was eliminated in the US in the early 20th century through restrictions on ownership and the double taxation of dividends a company paid its owner company.

The report stressed that the issue is not economic, but political – saying the only way to regulate the power of the families is a large government coalition that would seek such regulation.

Shavit, a commentator for the left-wing Haaretz daily, recently warned that the Kadima Party, led by Ehud Olmert, directly represent the interests of "the 18 families," as Shavit refers to the families controlling most of Israel's assets. Shavit warned that a Kadima victory would represent a total takeover of control of all the central institutions of the state by the families. He wrote a mock-memo, as a "strategic advisor to the 18 families" one the eve of elections:

"Dear Wealthy Families," Shavit wrote. "…For the last 15 years my colleagues and I have been laboring faithfully and devotedly to assure your conquest over the democratic systems of said country. Over the years, we reached outstanding achievements. We have managed to create a society devoid of opposition for you, one without any parties worthy of note, without labor unions worth the name, without sniping journalists. We thus achieved almost perfect control over the Israeli consciousness, and over the government and political establishment.

Read the rest. This shows that they're little more than a springboard for some of the richest snoots you can find.

Labels: Israel, Knesset, political corruption