Excellence Nessuah fires chief economist Maoz

Investment house Excellence Nessuah fired its chief economist Shlomo Maoz this evening. "In the light of his crude and unfortunate remarks, Shlomo Maoz is dismissed from all his positions. Excellence apologizes, and disowns these statements," an announcement released by the investment house this evening states.

After a highly publicized slanging match with commentator Yossi Frank on television program "Layla Calcali," an economic magazine program, Maoz let loose today against "the Ashkenazi elite at Bank Leumi, the Supreme Court, and among the demonstrators who participated in the social protest."

"I should have preferred it had the protest begun in Petah Tikva, where there are real social gaps, and not in central Tel Aviv, where the elitist Ashkenazim are," Maoz said at a conference on the politics of the social protest at Sapir College. "Bank Leumi is a bank of white people. The Supreme Court is all Ashkenazim; they think they are doing a favor when they appoint a Mizrahi judge," he continued.

In the past, Maoz was a candidate for a seat on the board of directors of Bank Leumi, but was rejected. Today he settled the score, claiming that he was not selected because of his Mizrahi (eastern) origin.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2012

Excellence Nessuah fires chief economist Maoz

In a tirade against the "Ashkenazi elite" today, Shlomo Maoz said Bank Leumi was "a bank for white people."