SERIOUS WELFARE STATE REFORM :

Israeli cabinet backs budget cuts (Barbara Plett, 30 July, 2002, BBC)

The Israeli cabinet has narrowly approved the biggest cuts in public spending in the country's history. [...]

The measures are meant to push the country out of a debilitating recession brought on by the Palestinian uprising and a global downturn.

If approved by parliament, it would be Israel's biggest budget cut - around $1.8bn. [...]

Critics said this was the nail in the coffin of Israel as a welfare state.

It's a coffin that's long needed to be nailed shut. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 30, 2002 9:58 PM