A Hebrew University economist said today that the cost of the Lebanon war was two or two-and-a-half times higher than the official figures indicate.
The defense budget places the cost of the three year venture into Lebanon at $1.6-$1.8 billion. But according to Prof. Haim Barkai, $4-$4.5 billion is closer to the mark.
He said, at a symposium, that the cost included about $700 million for military reservists called to duty and another $100 million in lost tourism. He said the build-up of the Israel Defense Force cost tens of millions of Dollars and was due to a parallel build-up of the Syrian army because of the Lebanon war.
The war had other adverse effects on the economy. Israel’s foreign debt rose from $13 billion in 1981 to $19.4 billion in 1984 while the growth of the gross national product (GNP) decreased by three percent, Barkai said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
