10 Jan 2023 --- Israel’s newly formed government has pledged to axe the country’s tax on single-use plastics, reportedly in an attempt to appease low-income ultra-Orthodox communities who cannot afford the dishwashing equipment needed to make reusable packaging viable. Opponents say this view is “narrow” and seriously threatens the nation’s natural environment. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich made the decision immediately after being sworn in on December 29 last year, saying he would end the tax “as quickly as possible.” Smotrich is the leader of the ultranationalist Religious Zionist Party, which gained power in the new coalition government last month – one that is said to be the most far-right in the country’s history.
