Israel’s high-tech economic engine balks at govt policies

By TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s tech industry has long been the driving force behind the country’s economy. Now, as Israel’s new government pushes ahead with its far-right agenda, the industry is flexing its muscle and speaking out in unprecedented criticism against policies it fears will drive away investors and decimate the booming sector. The public outcry presents a pointed challenge to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has championed the industry and long boasted of his own economic prowess. And it highlights how deep and broad opposition to the government’s policies runs, all the way to the heart of the economic engine that is the tech sector.