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previous section: Education Work Plan
The combination of a vision for the future of this country and work
plans in the national security, socio-civic and education spheres is a
necessary condition for putting Israel back on track. But it is not enough. There is a gaping vacuum at the top – a dearth
of qualified, able and committed leaders coupled with a political system that
makes this country increasingly impossible to govern. Instability is a structural feature of Israel’s system of government. So
long as the opposition sees the overthrow of the government as its primary task
it is only natural that this issue becomes the primary focus of both the
coalition and the opposition. Given the existing circumstances and incentives,
the political system has great difficulty in addressing Israeli society’s
multitude of existential problems – be they security-related or touching upon
the delicate thread that holds together the country’s socio-economic fabric. The main symptoms of this are: · A lack of public trust
in the political system. · Personal corruption
and very problematic governmental norms of behavior. · A failure by the
government to honor its basic obligations. -
Lack of law enforcement and problematic personal examples by
political leaders – all of which fuel an atmosphere of increasing lawlessness in
all areas of life. -
Unequal distribution of public services in general and of
social services in particular. · An inability to execute
policies that undermines the foundations of government and stems from: -
Frequent changes of policy. -
Inferior planning and poor decision-making alongside a
strong emphasis on the short term instead of the long run. -
Inability to fill key positions with sufficiently qualified
people. -
Waste of public resources. -
Lack of a culture of transparency and of serious public
discussion of fundamental issues. As a result of the above, signs of a rift between the government and large
sections of the public have begun to appear – a rift that is steadily
deteriorating the foundations of Israeli democracy. The objective of the Governance
Work Plan is to focus on the sources of the problems besetting Israel’s
political system and government, rather than dealing merely with their
symptoms. Since the structure of Israel’s political system is inherently unstable,
the solution to the problem must be structural in nature. Even visionary leaders with long-term
perspectives would have major difficulties overcoming the innate problems of
the current dysfunctional system of government.
Hence, it is necessary to establish the basic conditions for governance:
creation of fundamental systemic stability and restoration of the balance between
the executive and the legislative branches.
This process must be implemented in the most direct manner possible and
not in the customary patchwork that passes for policy. For example, the head of state and members of
the legislature must each be elected directly by constituents for fixed terms
of office. Objectives
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Changing the method of government. ¬
Introducing an effective system of checks and balances
between the executive and the legislative branches. ¬
Reducing the number of government ministries. ¬
Establishing clear and transparent criteria that the
government must operate under. ¬
Waging an unremitting war on violence, corruption and crime
in general. Policies
Required for Achieving the Objectives
1.
Direct Election of the President to a Fixed Term of Office
Individuals possessing superior personal ability, public integrity and a
calibrated internal compass are in very short supply among our non-extremist
elected officials. The existing political
system is extremely difficult to penetrate and it severely limits the ability
of those already inside to lead the country toward clear, safe and sustainable
horizons. It is a system in which the prime minister must appoint his primary
political rivals (be they from his own party or from other parties) to key
cabinet posts in order to survive – with all of the inherent implications that
this has on his subsequent ability to govern.
It is a system with built-in instability that serves as an incentive for
internal and external blackmail and threats.
It is a system that puts the elected officials at the mercy of their
parties’ central committees rather than making them accountable to the public
that voted them into office. It is a
system that is corrupting the very foundation of Israel’s government and its
society. It is a system that must be
changed. · Israel’s coalitional
form of government needs to be replaced by a presidential system. The country will headed by a president who,
together with a vice-president, will be elected to a fixed term of four years. It will no longer be possible to bring down
the government during this fixed term of office (though it will be possible to
impeach under special conditions of improper behavior). · The president will
appoint cabinet ministers according to their professional qualifications, and
they must gain approval from the Knesset. The ministers will work for the president, who
will have the right to fire them if they fail to meet his expectations. This method will enable the president to run the country together with
his ministers rather than having to wage constant battles against them. A fixed four-year term of office will give the
president a reasonable period of time to implement his policies that include a
broader, long-term, perspective. 2.
Direct Election of Knesset Members to Fixed Terms of Office
A natural separation between the executive and legislative branches
needs to be implemented. Ministers
should no longer serve as MK’s, while MK’s should focus on their primary task
of passing legislation. Once terms of
office are fixed, then the alternative of bringing down the government is no
longer an option and the two branches will have to learn to live and work with
one another and to produce results. In
addition, fixed terms of office will enable a transition to multi-year budgets. · The number of Knesset
members (MK’s) should be reduced from 120 to 90, which is approximately the
current number of incumbent MK’s who are not ministers or deputy ministers. · Rather than being
elected by members of their respective party’s central committees or chosen by
some other party mechanism, all MK’s will be directly elected by the district
in which they reside. This change will
make the MK accountable directly to the voters in his or her constituency
rather than to the political party as is the case today. A
team of internationally recognized experts should be appointed to formulate a
proposal for the new electoral system.
One possibility might be along the following lines: -
30 MK’s will be elected to fixed four-year terms from three
regions – the Galilee, the Negev and the Center – according to the relative
weight of the region’s population, with additional weight given to the Galilee
and the Negev. -
30 MK’s will be elected to fixed six-year terms on a
national basis. Elections
will be held every two years, with all the district MK’s, half the regional MK’s
and a third of the national MK’s up for election in each round, thereby
ensuring continuity. In
each election year the voters will vote for the candidate from their home district,
for approximately 5 candidates from the region (the exact number will vary
slightly according to the size of the region) and 10 national candidates. 3.
Introduction of a System of Checks and Balances
between the Executive and Legislative Branches
· The president will
have the right to veto any law that conflicts with his overall policy. -
The line-item veto will enable the president to veto
specific sections of a law while passing the remaining sections. -
The president will also have the right to veto the entire
law. · The presidential veto
may be overridden by a majority of 46 MK’s (of the 90 who will serve in the
restructured Knesset) and the legislation will become law despite the president’s
opposition. 4.
Reducing the Number of Government Ministries
At the time of this writing, Israel has a president, a prime minister,
and 21 cabinet ministers for 19 ministries, of which 17 ministries have an
incumbent minister. In order to eliminate duplication, simplify and streamline
the process of implementing policy, and reduce public expenditure: · The posts of prime-minister
and president should be abolished and replaced with the single post of
president, as described above. · The number of ministries
should be reduced to ten: I. Ministry of the Economy and
Employment Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of Industry, Trade, Employment, Agriculture, Tourism and
Communications. II. Ministry of Social Affairs Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of Health and Welfare. III. Ministry of Education Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology. IV. Ministry of Infrastructure Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of National Infrastructures, Transportation, Housing and
Construction. V. Ministry of Environmental Affairs VI. Ministry of Interior Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of Interior and Immigration. VII. Ministry of Defense Will include areas currently handled
by the Ministries of Defense and Internal Security. VIII. Ministry of Foreign Affairs IX. Ministry of Justice X. Ministry of Finance None
of the ten ministers will serve as MK’s, and each will be chosen by the
president. There will be no deputy ministers, but only managing-directors of
ministries. 5.
Greater Emphasis on Law Enforcement and on Deterrence
The basic foundations of law and order in Israel are disintegrating. Violence within the family, in schools and on
the street is turning us into a society the likes of which we have never known
and do not wish to familiarize ourselves with. Corruption in government, in public life and
in business has become an accepted norm in too many instances. The combination
of lax law enforcement and lenient punishment leads to a situation in which basic
civil rights are endangered. A country
that permits widespread and methodical flouting of its laws is weakening the
foundations of democracy and endangering its future with its own hands. We cannot and should not permit this descent
into anarchy to continue. The same
determination with which Israel wages war against terrorism should be applied
to the war on crime and corruption. This
needs to be done concurrently, and at three levels: A.
Zero-tolerance on Violence What began generations ago as a wink and a nod at the Israeli sabra’s
unique personality – sweet on the inside, but abrasive and thorny on the
outside – has long since gotten out of control.
In fact, the “thorniness” was never anything more than simple chutzpah
and callousness reflected in a lack of consideration for the other in all aspects
of life in the country: loud and insulting behavior, inability to listen and
engage in debate, hurling of insults, jumping the queue, hostility and
aggression on the roads – and the list can be considerably extended. What began as impolite behavior turned into verbal abuse that in too
many instances developed into physical abuse. Violence in the country is becoming a national
plague. It is pervasive and its level of
seriousness is escalating, particularly against the weakest sections of society.
The murder and rape of children, women, and
the elderly horrify us anew on a periodic basis. What is our society coming to when trade in
women – as if they were slaves – takes place today in the Jewish state? Internalization of values such as courtesy, respect for the law,
sensitivity and consideration toward others clearly begins at home and at a
tender age. The education system also has
an important role to play in this respect. This must be a central feature of the core
curriculum described earlier in the Education Work Plan. But education is not enough. Israeli society must protect itself by
additional means: · Police -
The Israeli police force must undergo fundamental reform. Significant upgrading of the size, quality and
allocation of the workforce is required, as well as of the means placed at its
disposal. -
Serious police work is for professionals and the force cannot
be dependent on volunteers, however devoted they are. There are no shortcuts in this area. -
All areas of law enforcement and public order must come
under the responsibility of the police – from maintaining public order and
combating crime to enforcing traffic regulations, labor laws, and laws designed
to protect the environment. -
Police organization and deployment that significantly increases
the likelihood of apprehension, if a crime is committed, plays an important
role in crime prevention. Such
organization and deployment must become a central feature of the police reform. -
Consideration should be given to the establishment of
local/urban police forces that would have a better understanding of the
problems and characteristics of the local population. · Courts -
The courts in Israel are not coping with their workload. Long drawn-out trials confirm the maxim that
“justice delayed is justice denied”. The
judicial process must be streamlined to speed up the process culminating in a
verdict and, if necessary, in sentencing. -
An increased probability of apprehension must be accompanied
by deterrent punishments. In the case of murder or other crimes that end with
the verdict of life in prison, the person found guilty should actually remain
in prison to the end of his life. · Prisons -
Prison conditions in Israel are disgraceful, with severe
overcrowding and poor sanitation. The prisons must provide at least the minimum
standards for human habitation laid down by law. -
The rehabilitation procedure for prisoners is critical for
improving the chances of those released to become reintegrated in society. The resources and efforts invested in prisoner
rehabilitation require significant upgrading. B. Zero-tolerance
on Corruption Public and private corruption in Israel has reached epidemic proportions
and affects all branches of government. The
deterioration of morals in publicly elected officials is reflected in their shameless
conflicts of interest at the personal and family level, and in misleading,
manipulative, inaccurate and simply false reporting of the facts by officials
that are becoming ever more brazen in their lack of accountability to the
public. The lack of budgetary transparency means that citizens have no idea as
to how their tax money is actually being spent – with hazy budget items
providing back-channels for huge transfers of money to cronies and special
interest groups. There is an
unconscionable discrepancy between public declarations of national priorities
and defacto budget allocations that reflect the actual, hidden, national
priorities. The zero-tolerance approach to fighting corruption among publicly
elected officials should include: · Abolishing the right
of publicly elected officials to remain silent during police
investigations. Such officials should be
given the option to give evidence if so required, or to resign if they wish to
remain silent – but they cannot be permitted to retain their positions if they
choose to remain silent. · Only a judicial panel
– rather than fellow MK’s, as is the case today – should have the authority to remove
the immunity of MK’s suspected of criminal behavior. · Publicly elected
officials cannot be permitted to participate in discussions or votes if they or
members of their family stand to benefit in any way from the results of the
discussion or the vote. · Budget transparency
must be substantially increased in order to prevent back-channel appropriations
of public money. C.
Zero-tolerance on Economic Crimes The level of disregard for the law, together with deeply-rooted norms of
non-enforcement in Israel, have led to growing mistrust in public institutions
and to intolerable economic distortions – the latter includes steadily
increasing inequality in the distribution of incomes and creation of an
unnecessarily heavy public debt. It
should be emphasized that “white collar” crime is not confined to the public
sector alone. These offenses should be taken seriously, whether committed in
the public or the private sectors. The
zero-tolerance approach on economic crimes requires: · All-out war on
“under-the-table” labor activity. Widespread
non-reporting of incomes is reflected in extensive tax evasion that increases
the tax burden on law-abiding citizens. Furthermore,
non-reporting enables receipt of welfare payments – which increases the tax
burden still further – and creates an illusion of poverty. · Serious law
enforcement – by police rather than by inspectors from municipalities and
government ministries – of labor laws and regulations including payment of a
minimum wage and social security benefits. The time has come for the public to
internalize the fact that these are not merely behavioral guidelines from above
but the laws of the land. · Penalties for
non-criminal business offences should be include stiff monetary fines that will
act as a deterrent. The general rule for
criminal offences should be jail. · Declaring war on a
business culture that sanctions failure to honor one’s commitments. This culture ranges from individuals and
businesses that issue checks that bounce right up to the government itself,
which fails to honor its contractual commitments to pay suppliers on time –
even failing to pay altogether on occasion. 6.
Leadership
A different kind of leadership is required to implement the Work Plan:
a leadership with vision and a sense of direction, with the qualifications to
formulate national priorities and the wherewithal to implement them, with the
ability to lead by personal example, with integrity and personal standards
above reproach. Israel deserves no less. |