The Government of Israel approved the recommendation of the Candidate Search Committee to appoint Prof. Naomi Feldman as a member of the Bank of Israel Monetary Committee, in place of Prof. Reuben Gronau who will step down from the Monetary Committee after serving on it for 10 years. The appointment will go into effect on 9/10/21. At the same time, the Government approved the Committee’s recommendation to extend the tenures of Prof. Moshe Hazan and Prof. Zvi Hercowitz for an additional term.

 

Pursuant to the Bank of Israel Law, 5770–2010, the Monetary Committee consists of six members: the Governor (Chairperson of the Committee), the Deputy Governor, a Bank of Israel employee appointed by the Governor, and three additional members from among the public, who are appointed by the Government. Currently, the members serving from among the public are Prof. Reuben Gronau, Prof. Zvi Hercowitz, and Prof. Moshe Hazan. The recommendation to appoint the members was preceded by an orderly process in the Committee for the Search of Candidates from among the Public for Membership in the Monetary Committee and Supervisory Council of the Bank of Israel, led by Adv. Yehoshua (Shuki) Lemberger. The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, led by retired Justice Bilha Gilor, also held consultations with the Governor of the Bank of Israel and found the three fit for service.

 

Prof. Feldman holds a B.S. Degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, and earned her M.A. in Economics and her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan. Her research interests are public finance, taxes, and behavioral economics. Prof. Feldman has served as an Associate Professor of Economics in the Hebrew University Economics Department since 2018, as well as serving as a Co-Editor of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. In addition, she served from 2011 through 2018 as a Senior Economist in the Fiscal Analysis Section on the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, and served as well for a year on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in the US. Prior to that, in 2004, Feldman served as an advisor in the Monetary Assessment and Strategy Division at the Bank of England.

 

Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Amir Yaron said, “I wish Prof. Feldman much success in filling her role as a representative from among the public on the Monetary Committee of the Bank of Israel, and I thank her for her readiness to take on the responsibility it carries. Prof. Feldman has rich and relevant professional experience, and I am sure that she will contribute considerably to the Committee’s work. In addition, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to Prof. Reuben Gronau for his 10 years as a member of the Bank of Israel Monetary Committee, of which he has been a member since its founding, and his professional contribution to outlining the economic policy led by the Committee in the Israeli economy during those years.”​