Hard-nosed Jewish businessmen in the Diaspora are ready, when it comes to Israel, to suspend their critical judgment and back politically-motivated projects managed by the same notoriously inefficient bureaucracies about which they so bitterly complain when they themselves try to invest in Israel.

A renewed determination to undertake yet another massive government effort to develop the Negev threatens to become a repeat of 50 years of failed efforts that crowd out private enterprise.

As Ariel Sharon starts his own party, Israeli politics might finally focus on economics.

The wildest optimist could not have expected that for two consecutive years Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would manage not only to slash the government budget by very significant amounts but actually shrink our bloated public sector (which employs every third person in Israel) by reducing salaries and eliminating jobs.

That Netanyahu has also begun to tackle one of the thorniest economic problems bedeviling all democracies, the bankrupt public pensions funds, and has also vowed to continue privatizing government-owned assets – including the banks, the ports and the electric and water monopolies – shows extraordinary determination and political courage.