BUILDING ONE WALL, TEARING DOWN THE OTHER:

Israel Gets a Taste of Friedman: Bibi is leading a charge for tax cuts, deregulation and economic liberty. (KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL, March 1, 2004, Wall Street Journal)

Addressing foreign journalists in a Knesset conference room last fall, Ehud Rassabi began his talk with the following statement: "I am a fan of Milton Friedman." As the parliamentarian went on to detail his plans to cut Israel's public sector, slash taxes, draw down entitlements and privatize state assets, several reporters looked around in confusion, wondering if they were still in the land of the kibbutz.

But it definitely was Israel, and even as the world has focused more attention on the Palestinian issue, it has overlooked a significant story. The land once labeled the "last remaining socialist state in Eastern Europe," has seen its governing coalition embark on what could be the most important economic reform in the country's history. The impetus for change has come via a popular mandate that helped propel reformers like Mr. Rassabi to the Knesset in the last elections. The will to see it through comes via Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, the firebrand former prime minister who surprised everyone a year ago in agreeing to become finance minister. The next few months will decide whether he and his fellow free-marketers have the political wherewithal to succeed.

No wonder guys like Howard Dean and John Kerry are anti-Israel.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 2, 2004 7:29 AM