Dozens of American business executives participated in an economic forum in New York held by the American Friends of the University of Haifa.

“The Lehman bankruptcy will go down in history as one of the worst mistakes ever made by the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury,” agreed Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of the business magazine Forbes, and American billionaire and real estate magnate Leon Charney. Both were panelists at the economic forum.

Mr. Forbes said that the strengthening of the dollar could draw the US economy out of its recession, and Mr. Charney, who is also Chairman of the University of Haifa’s Board of Governors, estimated that the financial crisis will end by the fourth quarter of this year and will be followed by slow economic growth.

This first meeting of the new forum was attended by leading US businessmen including Senior Vice President of Citibank Harvey Fuchs, hedge fund managers, and partners from powerful Wall Street law firms.