Dan Ben-David
Wake-Up Call - A Work Plan for a New Era in Israel
The Complete Plan Introduction Israel is in need of a new vision, with hope and a horizon that accord
with the feeling shared by most of us – that this nation, which created a
miracle here over the past six decades, is capable of soaring to previously
unknown heights in the coming six decades.
It is all in our hands. A professional and comprehensive Work Plan for realizing this
vision is presented here. In recent years Israel has been forced to deal concurrently with terror
attacks of unprecedented scope and brutality, with attempts at delegitimizing its
national image in both the regional and international arenas, with a serious
social crisis, and with a severe economic recession. There are currently signs
of improvement in both the security and economic arenas, and of a gradual
return to “business as usual” along Israel’s long run trajectories. The problem is that these trajectories – which reflect the country’s
national agenda since the seventies – represent very problematic trends that
will be unsustainable in the long run. Since the seventies Israel has been
characterized by slow economic growth, which has led to a relative decline in its
standard of living compared to the leading nations in the world. Its rates of poverty and inequality are among
the highest in the West, and they have been steadily increasing since the
seventies. Inadequate education,
combined with spreading corruption in government and society, only serve to
exacerbate the downward trends. The disadvantaged section of the population, which is not given the
tools and conditions necessary for participating in an open and competitive job
market, is growing at a much faster rate than the advantaged population that is
financing the resultant welfare assistance. In a modern and open economy, which enables
free movement of capital and labor from Israel abroad, those who continuously increase
the already-heavy burden on the part of the population that pays taxes and
serves in the army must understand that there exists a breaking point. Laws necessary for changing the long-run
trends, which are already difficult to pass by democratic vote, will become
impossible to pass in another generation or two. Unless fundamental changes occur in its long-term socio-economic trajectories,
the State of Israel will find it difficult to exist as a first-world country –
or to exist at all, given its geographic location and the associated dangers. The severe crisis that has been steadily
enveloping Israel’s society and economy is not an outcome of some preordained
destiny. Its severity is not purely a
result of terrorism or the worldwide recession.
It is possible to stabilize the present situation and to dramatically
improve the long-term outlook. What is
not possible is to allow the pervasive mental block regarding our current
national priorities to persist. Israel stands today at one of its most important crossroads since
attaining independence in 1948. The time has come for understanding the extent
of reciprocity between providing security, empowering society, strengthening
the economy, and enhancing governance. The time has come to set new national priorities,
which find expression in this Wake-Up Call: A Work Plan for a new era in
Israel. The new national priorities must be derived from the State of Israel’s
overall objective: providing liberty, freedom and security to the Jewish people
in their national home, as a country with a Jewish character, a Zionist
direction, and a democratic regime in which all its citizens – from all races
and religions – enjoy equal opportunities, prosperity and quality of life. National Security Work Plan. Preserving a Jewish-democratic state requires sustaining a solid
Jewish majority, which must be maintained only by moral and legal means. To this end, Israel must initiate a separation
from the Palestinians and determine the country’s borders, while aiming to
reach a final status agreement within a set timeframe that provides for “two
states for two peoples” between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea. If
it becomes apparent that a final status agreement is unattainable, Israel must
take unilateral action – including steps to increase the security of its citizens
within temporary borders that safeguard its Jewish, democratic and Zionist
identity – until the other side comes to its senses. Israel
also has a very important role to play, with a much different emphasis than in
the past, in strengthening the ties between the State and the Jewish and
Israeli communities abroad. Socio-Civic Work Plan. Achieving Israel’s supreme objective as a
Jewish-democratic state requires that “this must be the land of choice,” as
Herzl already understood over a hundred years ago. There should be no doubt that it is possible
to build here an economy with rates of employment and income among the highest
in the world, and a model society that demonstrates the will and the ability to
care for its weaker members according to the best of Jewish tradition. Success in the socio-economic sphere must
based on a joint sense of partnership – that must be reinforced and fortified –
between all components of Israel’s population.
This is the primary channel that will enable us to mend the rifts
between Jews and Arabs, religious and the secular Jews, veterans and
immigrants, and between periphery and center. Education Work Plan. Education is the national infrastructure. A
high-quality core curriculum common to all schools can provide each Israeli
with an equal opportunity to realize his or her potential and to confront the
challenges of the 21st century, while instilling values such as love
of country and people, democracy and humanism, and the encouragement of
excellence and tolerance. Governance Work Plan. In order to realize
the vision underlying the new national priorities, a concentrated effort is
required to enhance the governance in this country – through a change in
Israel’s system of government and by choosing a serious leadership with
integrity, a sense of purpose, and who leads by personal example. This is the only way to produce public
representatives who are personally committed to their electorate, a government
in which all the ministers act in conjunction to achieve the same goals, and
political stability that enables long-term planning and its implementation.
Distribution of resources according to national rather than sectoral
perspectives, according to new criteria that are clear and transparent,
together with an uncompromising battle against corruption and other illegal
activities – these are essential for enhancing the sense of social justice
necessary for carrying out the wide-sweeping changes that comprise the new
national agenda. Israel is the anomaly of the Western world. There is no other nation with such
dismal socio-economic features that have endured for so long, and yet has so
many bright points of light in areas so important for its success. But this
anomaly cannot be sustained for ever. Either the light will get brighter and
spread to every corner of the land, or it will dim – with all the implications
this has for the future of the State of Israel. Israeli society must remove its blinders and see how and where it has
been led over the past decades. As a
country facing considerable external dangers, the fact that our military might
is founded upon socio-economic strength should be clear. We know what the problems are. We know where they can lead us. We also know how to solve them – and there is
still time to do so. But this is a
window of opportunity that will not remain open indefinitely. The objective of the vision expressed in this Work Plan is not
merely to ensure the continued existence of the State of Israel. This is a
vision that ensures that Israel will continue to be a country in which we can
all take pride, a vision that ensures the continuation and vitality of the Jewish
people both within and beyond the State’s borders.
National Security Work Plan Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish-democratic state necessitates
an urgent and historic decision to preserve a solid Jewish majority within the
sovereign borders of the country, a majority that should be maintained only
through moral and legal means. Hence,
the determination of Israel’s borders must reflect demographic and defense
considerations, even when these come at the expense of the Jewish people’s
historic right to the entire Land of Israel. Demographic considerations dictate not only avoiding the inclusion of
densely populated Palestinian areas within the country’s borders, but also a
focused national effort to encourage immigration and its absorption; to strengthen
Jewish presence in areas of national and security importance, such as Jerusalem
and its surroundings, the Negev and the Galilee; and unconditional refusal to
allow the return of Palestinians to Israel. Objectives
¬
Ensuring Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish and
democratic state, with a solid Jewish majority sustained only by moral and
legal means. ¬
Providing security for Israel’s citizens. ¬
Separating from the Palestinians with the aim of reaching a final
status agreement of “two states for two peoples” between the Jordan river and
the Mediterranean. ¬
Establishing equality of civil obligations alongside
equality of civil rights. ¬
Preserving and strengthening the Jewish people and
reinforcing the ties between the State of Israel and the Jewish and Israeli
communities abroad. Policies
Required for Achieving the Objectives
1. A Strategic
Plan for the Day after Disengagement from Gaza and Northern Samaria
The time has come for Israel to determine a long-term national defense
strategy targeted at ensuring the future existence and the Jewish-democratic
identity of the State of Israel. There
are 10.5 million people living today between the Mediterranean Sea and the
Jordan River. By the year 2020, this
number will rise to about 15 million – of which 45% will be Jewish. Preservation of the Jewish, democratic and
Zionist identity of the State of Israel necessitates parting ways with the
Palestinians. The strategic work plan detailed here delineates a clear track that combines elements of various plans proposed separately by the
reserve generals Ami Ayalon, Giora Eiland and Uzi Dayan, and by former U.S.
President Bill Clinton. It includes
principles that, from Israel’s perspective, must be included in any final
status agreement, it provides two alternative options upon which such a
permanent agreement could be based – while prioritizing between them – and it
also provides an option in the event that it will not be possible to reach a
final status agreement that includes the essential conditions for Israel. In the first stage Israel needs to call for negotiations with the aim of
reaching a final status agreement within a defined period of time, based on
sections A and B below: A. Six
Principles on which any Final Status Agreement must be Based · Palestine will be the
only state of the Palestinian people, just as Israel is the only state of the
Jewish people. · The right of return of
Jews will be realized in Israel and the right of return of the Palestinians
will be realized in Palestine only. · Permanent borders will
be mutually agreed upon by all sides, taking into consideration security needs,
demographic realities and the 1967 borders. · The Palestinian state
will be demilitarized and will not constitute a direct or indirect threat to
the State of Israel. · Jerusalem is the capital
of Israel. There will be no change in
the status quo of the holy basin, with freedom of religion and full access to
holy sites guaranteed to people of all religions. · The final status
agreement will mark the cessation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an
end to all mutual claims. These principles include Israel’s red lines that guarantee its future
security and character as well as Jerusalem as its capital. Israel must not sign any permanent treaty
that does not include an agreement by all signatories to these basic
guidelines. B. Main
Alternatives for Dividing the Territory (as part of a future final status
agreement) · The preferred
alternative:
A multilateral agreement between Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan involving
a three-way exchange of territory. The
population of Gaza is currently 1.3 million. In the year 2020 it is projected
to reach 2.5 million. Apart from the severe problem of population density, Gaza
faces a critical shortage of jobs.
Employment of these workers in Israel – the policy in place since 1967 –
represents a problematic long-term solution for both sides: -
Palestinians are employed in
Israel under conditions that violate basic Israeli labor laws. Aside from the extremely problematic legal
and moral implications of this, the end result is a crowding out of Israelis
from the labor market and a severe blow to the wages of unskilled Israeli
workers. -
From the Palestinian perspective,
the signing of a final status agreement needs to open before them a window of
opportunity for achieving a significant improvement in their standards of
living. Such an improvement cannot come
from menial labor in Israel but from large-scale investments in physical and human capital
infrastructures in the Palestinian areas – financed generously and monitored
closely by international donors and foreign experts once the agreement has been
signed – which will provide jobs today and hope for the future. Therefore,
the preferred alternative for dividing the land is a multilateral agreement
between Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan that is based on three guiding
tenets: maintaining Israeli sovereignty over main Jewish settlement blocs;
finding a long-term solution to severe problems of population density and
unemployment in Gaza; establishing an economic foundation that will provide an
incentive for all sides to continue abiding by the agreement in the future. Following
are the main points of the preferred alternative: -
Egypt will transfer to Palestine an area in Sinai adjacent
to Gaza, on which a new city and large harbor will be constructed. -
In return for the area received from Egypt, the Palestinians
will yield to Israel areas containing large Jewish settlement blocs situated
close to the green line, as well as minor border amendments. -
As compensation for territory that will remain in Israel’s
hands, Egypt will receive Israeli land in the Negev north of Eilat and adjacent
to the Egyptian border. This area will
enable construction of an elevated or an underground land passage –
approximately -
Jordan will gain direct land access to a port on the
Mediterranean, with all the ensuing economic advantages. The
benefits to Israel, Palestine and Jordan are clear. The advantage for Egypt results from defusing
the explosive overcrowding and socio-economic pressure along its border with
Gaza, from the taxes and tolls that it will collect from the vehicle traffic
and oil flow to and from the Palestinian port city, and from the commerce that
will materialize in Egyptian territory along the new route connecting the
Palestinian city and the Jordan-Egypt corridor north of Eilat. That
said, it would be reasonable to assume that part of the traffic along the new
route will come at the expense of traffic through the Suez canal, an outcome
that will reduce – though not entirely eliminate – Egypt’s gains from the
agreement (making American aid to Egypt, roughly 2 billion dollars a year since
1979, contingent on that Egypt’s acceptance of the agreement would act as
additional “encouragement”). · The second
alternative:
In the event that it is not possible to reach a multilateral agreement, the
second alternative would be a bilateral agreement between Israel and Palestine,
along the parameters put forth by President Clinton in November 2000, with a
minimal exchange of territory between the two countries. Israel would receive settlement blocs
situated close to the Green line plus minor border adjustments. In exchange, Israel will give the
Palestinians land in the Negev that is adjacent to Gaza. · The most
problematic alternative – which should be rejected out of hand: An agreement
between Israel and Palestine that includes the transfer of territory from the Arab-populated
“triangle” within Israel to Palestine in return for the settlement blocs. Those who propose this alternative fail to
take into consideration that the basic rights of every Israeli citizen include
freedom of movement anywhere in the country, including the freedom to choose
where to live. How
many of the residents of the “triangle” area will agree to remain in a house
that is to be transferred to the sovereignty of a third-world country, with all
the problems inherent in such a country?
It is not unlikely that hundreds of thousands of Arab-Israeli citizens
will simply prefer to move to Haifa, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem rather than to
Palestine. In this context a legal issue may arise as to whether the extremely
high civilian cost of the compensation paid to the Gaza strip evacuees could
constitute a legal precedent for compensating those evacuating the “triangle”.
In any event, this alternative will not solve any demographic problem – as seen
by its proponents – since the same Arab population will remain in Israel, while
the country loses its direct means of access to the Galilee via Wadi Ara. It
is possible that the true motivation of the proponents of this alternative is
to revoke the citizenship of Israeli citizens by birth in order to compel them
to move to Palestine. However, such a
policy is not only immoral, it is not feasible for a country dependent on trade
and diplomatic ties – not to mention friendship – with the West. C. If a Final
Status Agreement Cannot be Reached It stands to reason that the conflict will eventually end in agreement between
the sides. But until then, Israel cannot
afford to wait passively – in view of the grave ramifications that the default
scenario will have on the future of the country. Should it become apparent that there is no
Palestinian leadership willing, or able, to reach a final status agreement with
us along the principles laid out above, then Israel must act unilaterally to
ensure its continued existence as a Jewish-democratic state. The guiding principles of such a unilateral step are as follows: · Israel will continue
to wage an unremitting war on terrorists and on the terrorist infrastructure in
all its forms, in every location, and with all the legitimate means at its
disposal, while at the same time demanding that the Palestinian leadership
eliminate the violence, the terror and the incitement. · In lieu of an
agreement, Israel will be free to determine its temporary borders and its security
arrangements. This entails initiation of
an additional disengagement in Judea and Samaria to a temporary border that will
enable the IDF to provide security and for Israel to maintain a solid Jewish
majority within its borders. Implementation of this strategic national security initiative means
putting our destiny into our own hands.
It will strengthen the personal and national security of Israel’s
citizens and it will ensure the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish,
democratic and Zionist state. Even if it
will not be possible to reach a final status agreement in the foreseeable
future, this initiative transfers the conflict with the Palestinians onto a
track that we will be able to deal with as long as necessary – a fact that may
help spur Palestinian understanding that time is no longer on their side. 2.
Security
· Provision of security also includes the
immediate completion of the security fence.
The fence is a vital and proven defensive measure for
saving lives and for fighting terrorism. In areas that Israel is already protected by security fences
– along the Jordan river, the Golan Heights, the Lebanese border, and around
the Gaza strip – these barriers have proven to be very effective in preventing
the infiltration of terrorists. The security fence must therefore be completed
at once. -
The route of the fence should be
as close as possible to the Green Line in order to limit, as much as possible,
the link between the urgent security need for the fence and the political and
diplomatic implications on future final status agreements that may emanate from
its placement. -
Jewish communities outside the
fence should be protected with barriers along their municipal boundaries and by
protection of the main traffic arteries connecting them. That said, these difficulties should be taken
into consideration when determining the scope of the subsequent unilateral
disengagement (in the absence of an agreement between the sides). · The world-wide
campaign against terror. -
Israel must continue to support the campaign against terror
led by the United States and assist it in every possible manner. -
Israel should encourage directing the campaign against
Syria, Iran and the Hezbollah and should promote steps leading to the dismantling
of the terror infrastructures in Syria and Lebanon. · The threat from unconventional
weapons of mass destruction. -
It is vitally important to prevent the development of nuclear
and other unconventional weapons in the area, with diplomacy as the primary
means for achieving this goal. -
The new international norms perceive for the first time a
linkage between terror and unconventional weapons of mass destruction. This is an important opportunity that Israel
can and must utilize as leverage in an unwavering campaign against the
acquisition of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and of ballistic
capability by Iran and Syria. -
Should diplomatic efforts prove unsuccessful in preventing
Iran from attaining nuclear capability, and if it becomes apparent that in the
aftermath of such diplomatic failure the United States and its allies will not
take military action against Iran before it passes the nuclear threshold, then Israel
must itself neutralize this existential threat.
Under these circumstances, Israel should employ any means necessary to
ensure that neither Iran – nor any other country in the area – acquires a
nuclear capability. ·
The Israel Defense Forces -
The IDF is the people’s army within a democratic country
with an independent judicial system and led by a freely-elected and legal government. The very fact that all this needs to be explicitly
stated is an indication of the deep chasm currently dividing some parts of the
country’s population from others. Under
these circumstances, it is important to reaffirm the need to reject any form of
organized refusal on the part of IDF soldiers to obey commands. -
It is important that the IDF should continue to be the
people’s army, in which soldiers from all walks of life must serve. Conscripts must receive salaries for their
service, which is not currently the case. 3.
Equality of Rights alongside Equality of
Obligations
One of the most important civil rights is the right to democratically choose
our representatives, who determine the kind of country we live in, its
character, the extent of dangers that our children will face, the key issues
that affect our quality of life – and at times, even our very existence. · The right to vote is a
basic right that should be given: -
Only to citizens living in the country – who must bear the
consequences of their choice. -
Only to those who obey the laws of the country. A person whose freedom is taken away by
society should not be given the freedom to participate in determining the
agenda of that society, as long as he is in prison. · Equality of rights is
a fundamental condition of democracy. Equality of obligations should be regarded in
the same manner. In a society that
requires its citizens to pay a heavy price, in terms of blood and taxes, it is
inconceivable that wide sections of the population have the right to
participate in determining the price – but are exempt from paying the resultant
costs. All of Israel’s citizens share
the same fate. Full equality of rights
and obligations is a prime expression of this and a key factor in instilling a
common sense of partnership and purpose. -
Israeli Jews: Israel
does not force any citizen to live here. A Jew who chooses to live in the Jewish state
must take part in its defense. -
Israeli Arabs: Although
there is still much that needs to be done to improve the conditions faced by
Israel’s Arab citizens, it is important to stress that throughout the entire
Arab world there is no other true democracy that even approaches Israel’s
standard of living. Therefore, not only Israeli Jews but also Israeli Arabs
must understand that they have a lot to lose if Israel should cease to exist. Therefore: -
As long as there continues to be a compulsory military draft
in Israel, then every Israeli citizen must serve their country – either in the
army or in national civilian service to the community and the country. Just as discrimination on the basis of
gender, religion or ethnicity must never be tolerated when it comes to
providing rights, then it is inconceivable that different measuring sticks can
apply when it comes to imposing obligations. -
Since the main need of a country at war is an army strong
enough to deter enemies, to provide early warning, and to win decisively when
war is thrust upon it – and since this is the reason for a compulsory military
draft in the first place – then Israeli society needs to issue a clear message
regarding the need for conscripts to choose military service rather than
civilian national service. This national
preference must be expressed in an incentive structure that distinguishes
between the length of the respective services. Civilian national service should
be 33% longer than service in the Israel Defense Forces. Once
each citizen serves his or her country, there will be a lightening of the burden
on those who serve – including in the length of service – and an increase in the
common sense of purpose, in the pride in one’s country, and in the will to
strengthen Israel as our collective home. 4.
Preserving and Strengthening the Jewish People and the
Ties between Israel and the Jewish and Israeli Communities Abroad
Slowly but surely, almost without notice, the thread that binds Jews in
Israel with the Jewish communities abroad is steadily unraveling. This is a process that both sides are
responsible for, a process that is going to end badly if the leadership – here
and there – doesn’t comprehend the big picture, understand its implications,
and have the foresight to navigate us to safer shores. As far as the Jewish communities abroad are concerned, no explanations
were required for the generation that survived the holocaust regarding the
necessity of a home in which the Jewish people could exist, defend itself and
flourish. The next generation, which
grew up during the 6-Day and Yom Kippur wars, did not need reminders that above
the third temple hovers a clear and present danger. Both generations could be proud not only of
our ability to build around us one of the world’s strongest defensive shields,
but also – and perhaps, in particular – they could take pride in the incredible
development of Israeli society in non-defense realms during the
post-independence years. Since then, the violent existential threat has thankfully receded – and
with it, the sense of urgency and closeness between both sides (in Israel and
abroad) of the subsequent generation.
The process that our children’s generation is undergoing today will have
profound implications on the future – if not the existence – of Judaism
world-wide. Israel’s image is not what it used to be, and this is no
coincidence. Our national priorities
have changed from top to bottom, and the consequences should surprise no one –
with all that this implies regarding the future link between the young
generation of Jews living abroad and within Israel. · Young people in Israel
need to learn from the communities abroad that Judaism is not a simple binary
decision: i.e. that one’s choice set is not limited to being either orthodox or
secular. Otherwise, when the religious
option is viewed as binary, the result is that many of our children are growing
up not just secular, but increasingly anti-religious. The implications of this are disturbing, and
they do not bode well for a country that wishes to continue as the home of the
Jewish people. It is vitally important that
our children become much better acquainted with their brethren abroad – to be
exposed to Jews who can show them a different face to our religion, heritage
and culture. · For Jewish young people
overseas, the problem is different, but no less serious. In countries where assimilation is rapidly
increasing, there is a growing need for young people to be exposed to a Judaism
beyond the confines of the orthodox, conservative and reform synagogues and
temples. They need to see a proud,
vibrant and successful Jewish people with religious and non-religious
lifestyles that can complement and substantially enrich their current outlook
on Judaism. Israel cannot remain content with its role as a Jewish safe haven. It must become the home that all Jews –
wherever they may be – can and should be proud of and want to identify with. From the perspective of Jewish communities
abroad, the time has come to switch from fund-raising for issues such as
poverty and education that the Israeli government is both responsible for and
has sufficient funds to deal with – once it gets its priorities straight – and
focus on programs, like Birthright Israel (Taglit), that bring young people
here from abroad so that they may see with their own eyes the national home of
their people, and get to personally know some of its inhabitants. In doing so, they will provide an invaluable
contribution to broadening our own children’s perception of the essence of
Judaism. Additional points of emphasis: · Education of overseas
youth on Israel, its heritage and the Hebrew language is an important means for
strengthening the bond between Jewish communities abroad and Israel. · Israel should continue
to support the immigration of Jews to Israel – the sovereign national home of
the Jewish people. · The destiny shared by
Israel and Jews throughout the world necessitates a common struggle to protect
Jews against all forms of anti-Semitism and against attempts to delegitimize
the State of Israel. · Israel should
recognize the unique character and needs of the Israeli communities abroad, to encourage
them to join together, and to forge closer ties with them. Israel should assist these communities in
promoting Israeli education and culture, and in particular, the teaching of
Hebrew. It should encourage visits to
Israel, service in the IDF by the children of Israelis abroad, and to encourage
their return to Israel. Socio-Civic Work Plan Strong socio-economic foundations are a necessary condition for national
security. The fact that Israel is at the
forefront of human knowledge in many fields tends to obscure the cold reality
that beneath all this – the country’s basic socio-economic foundations have
been steadily deteriorating over the past three decades: · Average living
standards in Israel have been steadily falling farther and farther behind
western leaders since the 1970’s. This
trend is not consistent with Israel becoming the country of choice either for
Jews abroad or for a growing number of Israelis with alternatives. · Poverty levels in
Israel have been steadily increasing since the 1970’s. Over a third of the families in the country
now live below the poverty line according to their gross incomes. · Income inequality is
already among the highest in the West, while its steady increase since the
1970’s show no sign of abatement. These trends only serve to exacerbate and fuel existent social rifts in
a variety of spheres – Jewish-Arab, religious-secular, and inter-ethnic
tensions. Continuation along these trajectories threatens Israel’s future
existence. Pure and simple. Modern, open and competitive markets are key to getting the country back
on track. However, in contrast to the prevailing
mindsets of too many policy-makers in Israel, this by no means implies that laws
governing free markets are synonymous with the laws of the jungle, in which the
strong devour the weak with impunity. The
government has an important responsibility to build the essential physical and
human infrastructures and to efficiently provide the necessary services in
order to overcome inevitable market failures and shortcomings. Objectives
¬
Increasing employment. ¬
Reducing social rifts and economic gaps. ¬
Raising living standards while improving the quality of life
and the environment. ¬
Increasing the rate of economic growth, raising productivity
and improving competitiveness. ¬
Providing equal opportunities for women. ¬
Fully integrating minorities. ¬
Strengthening the middle class. ¬
Providing a safety net for the elderly and the disabled. ¬
Strengthening the Negev and the Galilee. ¬
Significantly reducing the number of casualties in traffic
accidents. Policies Required for Achieving the Objectives
1.
Changing National Priorities in the Allocation of
Budgets
The time has come to puncture the public illusion that the State of
Israel does not have sufficient funds to adequately take care of business. Not everything here is going to defense –
though it is true that too much is being wasted on defense in the absence of
adequate transparency and public oversight.
However, there is more than enough left over for civilian purposes. Even after excluding defense spending, civilian public expenditure in
Israel is higher than the average for Western countries. In other words, there is no lack of money – and
for a long time now there hasn’t been a lack of money – in terms of
non-defense, civilian, expenditures that could have been utilized to prevent
the deterioration that has occurred over the past three decades in the
socio-economic realm. It is all a matter
of priorities. Furthermore, the inherent
lack of transparency in the entire budget has contributed to an irrational and
inefficient distribution of public funds. The time has come for a thorough change of how we view this country’s
budget. The concept of “public funds”
has long since lost its meaning. We work
hard for our income and are required to hand over a large portion of it to the
state. This money is ours – we should
never forget to whom it belongs – and it is entrusted to public representatives
to be redistributed according to national, as opposed to nationalistic,
considerations rather than narrow personal and sectoral interests. The national budget needs to be restructured from the top down,
according to the budgetary requirements derived from the new national
priorities detailed in this Work Plan: · Allocation of funding
to all the education systems – the national, the national-religious, the Arab
and ultra-orthodox – according to identical, clear and transparent criteria,
will make it possible to channel increased assistance to the needy and reduce
the gaps. The reform proposed here (in the Education Work Plan below) will
lead to more efficient use of the education budget and will significantly
improve the system’s performance. · Implementation of a
strategic program for increasing employment, including a change in the
incentive structure and increased investment in physical infrastructure (the
program is detailed in the following section). · In addition, giving
budgetary priority to: -
The Negev and the Galilee, rather than to areas that will
not be part of a Jewish-democratic state in the future. -
Strengthening the welfare system on the basis of assistance
only to the needy. -
Improved law-enforcement (discussed further in the Governance
Work Plan). -
Implementation of a comprehensive national traffic safety
program (detailed in the relevant section below). -
Effective protection of the environment (detailed in the
relevant section below). -
Encouraging research and development. · Reduction of the
public sector: -
Reducing the number of government ministries from 22 to 10 (discussed
further in the Governance Work Plan). -
Merging local authorities. -
Abolishing superfluous and wasteful bureaucracy in the
public sector. -
Increasing efficiency, transparency and government oversight
in the military, and cutting the currently inflated defense budget by 10%. · An uncompromising
campaign against the underground, and unreported, economy (discussed further in
the Governance Work Plan). This is an important step in the war on crime,
in augmenting the government’s tax income, and in equalizing the bearing of the
tax burden. · A significant increase
in budgetary transparency, so that the public will be able to see what the
actual national priorities are – as they are reflected in actual budget
allocations – rather than having to believe declarations as to the national
priorities. · Reducing public
expenditures to enable reduction of the tax burden and the national debt. Israel’s
middle class is ladened with an extremely heavy tax burden. Of every additional
shekel that an employer spends on an employee in the sixth income decile (i.e. middle income), the
government receives approximately two-thirds and the employee is left with only
a third of that extra shekel. The tax burden affects living standards, the willingness
to work – and in some cases, the willingness to remain in Israel for those
whose skills provide them with other alternatives. Indirect taxes, such as VAT, also constitute a
heavier burden in Israel than in most Western countries. This is a regressive tax that affects
primarily the poor, who spend all of their money on consumption. 2.
Increasing Employment and Wages
In no area is the “patchwork” method more evident than in the
government’s employment policy. The
country is long past due a strategic economic program targeted at increasing
employment and raising wages. Such a program entails: · Restructuring the
current mix of work versus non-work incentives: -
A large part of the assistance (for healthy, working-age people) should be given in the form of
work incentives. There is a need to replace non-work incentives (such as child
allowances) with work incentives (such as tax credits for care of dependents –
be they children, disabled, ill or elderly), including the introduction of a
negative income tax for those with low incomes. -
The time has come to synchronize and streamline the
country’s multiple tax and aid programs.
The government has no idea regarding the total income of a large segment
of Israel’s families. In order to ascertain
who really needs state assistance and the extent of the assistance actually
given by all the public agencies, there is a need to bring order to the
following two spheres: o
All family income from all sources must be combined, the
taxation system needs to be simplified considerably, and a compulsory tax
return on annual incomes instituted for every household – making each Israeli
adult legally accountable for the amount declared. These measures will make it possible to
determine who is really in need of welfare assistance. They will broaden the tax base, increase the
number of shoulders bearing the tax burden, and lighten the load on those
currently bearing it. o
All public subsidies and other forms of assistance need to be
combined and to originate from one source only – and they must be distributed
according to clear, transparent criteria that are identical for all sectors and
populations in the country. Assistance
to individuals and households should be provided primarily according to
socio-economic status, state of health, etc.
A necessary condition for providing assistance to businesses is that the
social return from the support outweigh the firm’s private rate of return. · Establishing an integrated
system of supplemental adult education, vocational training and job placement
attuned to the needs of the economy. This new system should comprise a number of spheres, each with its own target
clientele and goals, which nevertheless complement one another. The first
sphere focuses on the providing an opportunity for upgrading basic knowledge.
The second sphere concentrates on upgrading professional skills, and the third
sphere integrates the upgraded knowledge and skills with job placement. - “Second Chance”
Program for Supplemental Adult Education The
role of the supplemental education system is to provide a general core level of
human capital for those adults who dropped out of the education system as
children, and for new immigrants who did not receive secondary education in
their country of origin – making it possible for them to improve their income-earning
ability. Because of the general nature
of these studies, they should be provided by the state. The goal is to enable
as many students as possible to complete high-school equivalency levels and
exams. Hence, participation in the
program should not be conditional upon the student’s employment situation. Raising the basic level of knowledge of the Israeli worker is of major
importance not only to the employee but also to society as a whole. The studies
should thus be subsidized – both directly and in the form of long-term loans with
subsidized interest rates – so as to accommodate anyone who wishes to exploit
this second chance to climb back on to the educational ladder. - Vocational Training Involvement
of employers in vocational training contributes to a raising of the rate of
employment. Colleges should be
encouraged to establish technological training centers in partnership with
employers and with government support. Participation of the business sector in this
initiative is of special importance. The centers should offer modular training
programs to technicians and practical engineers, short training courses, and other
vocational programs. The training of technicians, practical engineers and those
with other vocations should include an apprenticeship period that will provide
practical experience in a private business. - Job Placement
System The
job placement system in Israel must undergo fundamental change, which includes
privatization (to a certain extent, the process would appear to have begun
recently, but the intended goal is only to fulfill part of what such a system
should really provide). The state should enter into contractual relationships
with private companies for limited periods – along with supervision and
monitoring of performance and the option of withholding payment and imposing
fines should the companies fail to meet the conditions – and grant performance-related
bonuses. The job placement centers need to be established on a regional basis,
with each regional center specializing in areas that reflect the
characteristics of the local population and employers, thereby enabling
individual attention to be given as far as possible. The role of the center will be to find, offer and recommend different
alternatives to each client: supplemental education, vocational training and/or
immediate job search. The center should accompany the client along the entire
track chosen by the individual up to the stage of finding a job and then continuing
for a defined period thereafter. The client will be able to benefit from the
professional knowledge and the experience accumulated by the center in matching
skills and preferences to current possibilities. The placement centers will be compensated according to their rates of
success in making placements and the length of time during which the worker is
employed. Unlike the Israeli version of
the “Wisconsin Works” program that is currently being piloted, if the client
chooses the supplemental education track or the vocational training track, the
center will be rewarded according to the student’s measure of success upon
completion of each individually-structured section of the program. The center’s
compensation will be determined according to a scale constructed by a committee
of experts at the national level. The success-based
scale ensures that the center will make a serious effort to direct the client
to the most suitable track and not necessarily direct the client straight to
the placement track. · A significant reduction
in the cumbersome bureaucratic procedures that lead to superfluous costs and
huge amounts of unnecessary red tape all along the seam running between the
public sector and the business and households sectors. The easier it will become to set up and run a
business in Israel, the faster the increase in employment rates and income
levels. · Longer school days and
afternoon enrichment programs for children and youngsters will enable more
parents to look for work (further discussion in the Education Work Plan). · Equal opportunities for
women and minority groups in receiving training, finding work, promotion and
wages (details in the relevant sections). · A significant
reduction in the number of non-Israeli workers. · Substantial upgrading of
the transportation infrastructure in order to: -
Increase the accessibility of urban jobs to those residing
in the periphery. -
Reduce production costs, thereby increasing the
competitiveness of Israeli businesses, which in turn will increase employment. -
Reduce physical and social gaps between the different areas
of the country. · Enact legislation
determining that anyone receiving a service is accountable for ensuring that
the employee who provides the service – be he employed directly or through an
employment agency – receives the payment and conditions to which he is entitled
by law. · Amend the dismissal
compensation law to create symmetry between flexibility for employers and
mobility for employees. · Enhance Israel’s
current position as one of the world’s technology leaders, thereby increasing
its attractiveness for foreign investments and raising its level of
competitiveness. 3.
Welfare Policy
The State of Israel is responsible not only for providing the tools and
conditions that ensure equal opportunities in employment, but also for
providing a basic social safety net for those unable to tend for themselves. The
state is obliged to: · Ensure the regular
supply of medical services to all its residents, including – among others – adequate
nursing services, medication baskets, and hospital beds. · Ensure that social
security payments provide respectable living standards for the elderly, the
disabled and others unable to contend in a competitive economy. To minimize the prevalence of these problems
in the future, the State must enact legislation making saving in pension plans
and disability insurance mandatory for all incomes above a specified threshold. · Enable true equality
of opportunity in education – by increasing budgets if necessary – for all
pupils so that they can fully utilize their potential. What we won’t spend on education today we’ll
spend, with compounded interest, in the future on welfare. Voluntary organizations play a very important role in providing aid. But even if this aid is given generously, it
does not reduce the need for a national perspective that leads to systemic
planning, budgeting and monitoring at the national level. This is one of the core issues that comprise
the realm of the government’s responsibility and accountability. 4.
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
Women in Israel are not fully integrated into the labor market or into
the political and economic leadership of the country. The primary impediments
in this regard are a mix of social and religious obstacles together with pure discrimination
that prevent women from attaining their true potential. To rectify this
situation, the government must implement an integrated policy in the following
areas: · Constant efforts
towards increasing representation of women in all the major decision-making
spheres – political, economic and managerial – in accordance with their
abilities and their share in the population. · More efficient
enforcement of laws prohibiting discrimination. · Initiatives within the
education system: -
Education towards equality – with respect to childcare and
household chores on the one hand, and with respect to professional aspirations
and their fulfillment on the other. -
Encouraging girls to study technological subjects. -
Training young leadership. · Establishing centers
to assist women in setting up and running independent businesses. Arab women in Israel are subject to dual discrimination – as women and
as Arabs. Their rate of participation in
the labor market is extremely low, resulting not only from their low
educational level and the lack of available employment, but also because of
traditional norms that limit women’s mobility, their freedom to choose a place
of work that suits them, or even to go out to work. Providing encouragement and support for Arab
women to enter the labor force is an important vehicle for improving their
collective standing as a group and is a primary means for improving the
standard of living and reducing the high rate of poverty among Israeli Arabs.
The willingness and ability of Arab women to work is closely related to their level
of education. 5.
Israel and its Communities
A. Religion and
State The Kinneret Declaration, which defines a broad core of agreement regarding
Israel’s character as a Jewish-democratic state, states: “Israel is the home to secular, traditional and religious Jews. The growing alienation of these groups from
one another is dangerous and destructive. We, secular, traditional, and
religious Jews, each recognize the contribution of the others to the physical
and spiritual existence of the Jewish people. We believe that Jewish tradition
has an important place in the public sphere and in the public aspects of the
life of the country, but that the state must not impose religious norms on the private life of the individual. Disagreements over matters
of religion and state should be resolved through discussion, without insult and
incitement, by legal and democratic means, and out of respect for one’s
neighbor.” “We are one people. We share one
past and one destiny. Despite
disagreements and differences of worldview among us, we are all committed to
the continuity of the Jewish people and to ensuring the future of the State of
Israel.” · The Jewish nature of
the state is measured not only by the size of the Jewish population, but also
by its link to Jewish culture and moral behavior. We are currently witnessing a widening of the
rift and mutual delegitimization between the ultra-orthodox Jewish community
and the rest of the Jewish public, with the ultra-orthodox public feeling
threatened, closing ranks and becoming more extreme. This is a dangerous process that must be
stopped before it picks up steam. There
is no room in Israeli public life for discordant tones denouncing an entire
section of the population and calling for its rejection by the rest of Israeli
society. · The formula for mutual
cohabitation can be found in the rule “live and let live”. Each person is endowed with the right to
freedom of religion and the right to integrate religion in everyday life as
they see fit and according to their personal world view. A basic tenet of Israel’s democracy requires
that each one of us respect the religious decisions of our fellow citizens, as
long as this does not jeopardize anyone’s basic human and civil rights. -
Just as the state recognizes civil, non-religious, marriages
held beyond its borders, it should allow anyone who so wishes to have a civil
marriage within its borders. The right
of all citizens to marry legally in the country must be guaranteed, by means of
a change in the law if necessary. -
The chief rabbinate should alleviate, to the extent
possible, the process required for those wishing to convert to Judaism. -
The law enabling non-religious burial should be put into
practice in all parts of the country. · As long as Israel remains
in danger, all its citizens, be they secular, religious or ultra-orthodox, must
serve their country, either doing military service (the first preference) or
civilian service to the community and the state. B. Immigrants Over the past two decades Israel has been blessed with over a million
new immigrants – mainly from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia – who have
decided to share their fate with us. The children of these immigrants serve in
the IDF with the children of the native-born and share the same school desks
with them. We all shoulder the tax
burden together – and it goes without saying that terrorists do not distinguish
between the countries of origin of their victims. It is high time for this partnership to be reflected more fully in our
society. There are several areas in particular
that affect the former immigrants which require special attention on the part
of the state. These include: · Improving the lot of
the weaker groups among the immigrants, first and foremost the pensioners and
those in need of public housing. · Ensuring that the
status quo in religious matters does not jeopardize the immigrants’ rights (as
detailed in the section “Religion and State”). C. The Druze The Israeli Druze and the Jewish people are partners in a covenant
forged in blood that began before the State of Israel was established. The
Druze took upon themselves the full range of national obligations, military
service in particular, and are entitled to all the rights, from both the ideological
perspective – providing full expression to the fact that the Druze are an
integral part of the country – and from a practical perspective, with equal
distribution of the national budget to education, to public support for the
Druze towns and villages, and equality of opportunity in education, welfare and
in the labor market. D. Arabs The Arab population in Israel has for many years been subject to neglect
and to deliberate discrimination on the part of state institutions with regard
to allocation of resources, investment in infrastructure, encouragement of
entrepreneurship, and integration of Arab workers in the workplace. These
institutional shortcomings do not resonate very loudly within part of the
Jewish public, some of whom view discrimination against Arabs in the employment
sphere as legitimate practice. The employment characteristics of the Arab population clearly indicate
longstanding difficulties and are reflected in socio-economic gaps between Jews
and Arabs that are not closing. Compared
to Jews, Arabs have a lower level of education, their rate of participation in
the labor force is lower, their rate of unemployment is higher, and many of the
Arab laborers work in low-skill occupations. Their income is lower and their employment
uncertainty is higher The starting point for any action aimed at improving the situation must
be the commitment of Israeli society (and its governing institutions) to the
principles of justice and equality for all its citizens. We need to adopt a policy based on the
following principles: · Equalizing education levels
in the Arab population with those of the Jewish population – as an essential
means of creating equal initial conditions in the labor market. The key point in this context are: -
Support through special assistance programs (such as
implementation of longer school days, aid at the small group level in preparing
homework, exposure to computer-related technologies, databases in the schools and
community centers) in order to compensate for insufficient resources and to
ensure that students receive an opportunity to attain the necessary achievement
levels for entering a dynamic, competitive and modern labor market. -
Expansion of employment opportunities for educated Israeli Arabs. · Implement policies designed
to enhance development in the Arab sector, with an emphasis on
industrialization and entrepreneurship.
This includes creation of regional industrial parks shared by Jews and
Arabs (with joint management). · In an era of high-speed
communication, it is possible to employ a low-skilled labor force – such as
typists and telephone operators – within the Arab towns, without them having to
be physically present in the plants or the head offices of the companies
employing them. That said, it is
nonetheless essential that the education and skill levels of these employees be
upgraded so as to enable them to realize more of their potential. · Promotion and
development of tourism in Arab settlements with historic, cultural, or scenic
tourist potential. · Removing obstructions
to the integration of Arabs in the labor market by: -
Developing occupations requiring high-level skills in Arab
towns. -
Implementing a consistent policy aimed at removing
obstructions inhibiting Arab employment outside their towns and villages. · Equality of rights and
other civil conditions also requires equality of obligations, including the
obligation to serve one’s country – exactly like the Jewish population – in the
form of military service or national civilian service. 6.
Reforming the Health System
Israel is a country that allows its first world doctors to be
overshadowed by a third world managerial culture that abandons our loved ones
to subsistence as vagabonds in hospital corridors during their weakest hours,
that deserts them with budgets that move intensive care and national medicine
baskets downward on the budget prioritization ladder, that creates large gaps
in the quality of medical equipment around the country. This is a country that, given the amount of
money that it spends on health, should have looked substantially different at
the dawn of the 21st century.
The health system is in need of general reform, which should focus on
the following goals: · Better utilization of
health-related budgets. · Better utilization of
the workforce engaged in providing medical services. · Expansion of the
medication basket. · Increasing the number
of hospital beds in general, and the number of beds in intensive care units in
particular. · Upgrading the medical
equipment in peripheral areas. 7.
Protecting the Environment and the Quality of Life
In light of the rapid population growth in an area with few natural
resources, in a long and narrow country, 60% of which is desert and 40% of
which is reserved for use by the IDF (mostly in the desert region), there is an
urgent need for systemic planning of national infrastructures in areas such as:
provision of water and maintaining its quality, drainage and sewage systems,
national and municipal transportation systems, a solution to the problems of
waste management, and a long list of infrastructure-related topics that touch
on the environment. An incredible amount of damage has already been inflicted upon Israel’s
water supplies: salination and pollution of the aquifers as well as pollution
of rivers, lakes and the sea. The consequences begin with health hazards that
have a clear affect on our quality of life – with recurring manifestations of
this, such as the deteriorating health of former (many now deceased) naval
commandos who trained in the Kishon river, the poisoning of the Maccabiah
participants who fell into the Yarkon river, carcinogenic poisons emitted from
old industrial plants that led to the closing of wells and parking lots in Tel
Aviv’s Nahalat Yitzhak neighborhood, the flow of untreated sewage from the
center of the country into the Mediterranean which pollutes the beaches and
poisons the fish, and many other examples – and ultimately end with a
tremendous economic price. In a country in which a sizeable portion of the national output depends
on tourism, it is difficult to reconcile the contradiction between third world
environmental policies and the hope of attracting first world tourists. The air and water pollution is reflected in
substantial economic costs, and it is inconceivable that this burden be placed
upon the public’s shoulders rather than on those plants and businesses that
cause the pollution. The cost of this “externality”
– as this phenomenon is called in economics – can be calculated and imposed
directly on those who pollute. Anyone wishing to do business in Israel must
internalize environmental concerns as an integral part of the production
process in this country. Serious
enforcement and credible deterrence are indispensable for protecting the
environment, but constant education from early childhood is the most effective tool
for permanently uprooting the pollution affliction from Israeli society. The emphasis should be placed on sustainable development alongside
environmental protection – including protection of the spectrum ranging from
areas with natural beauty to sites with historic and/or religious value and
content – with the goal of preserving these for future generations. To this end,
Israel must: · Protect the
independence, professionalism and standing of the country’s planning system. · Increase the scope of
desalination so that Israel will be entirely independent of its neighbors
regarding the supply of water. The size
of the country’s population and its rate of growth are known – which in turn
implies that the extent of current and future water needs are known.
Furthermore, the quantity of water in the subterranean reservoirs, lakes and
rivers is known, as is the amount of rain that can be expected to fall over any
given period that includes the average number of arid and rainy years. In short, it is possible to calculate with a
fair degree of precision Israel’s future water demands and supplies. In this regard, the current intention to import water from Turkey rather
than to desalinate is problematic since importing water is both more expensive
and contradicts the objective of achieving independence in the supply of water. A large amount of the water should be allocated to reviving Israel’s
rivers and springs. · Investment heavily in
public transportation, particularly in environmentally friendly rail transport,
to improve mobility between the periphery and the center of the country, and
accessibility to and within the cities. · The large majority of
the country’s population lives in the cities.
Safeguarding the urban environment and preservation of vital open areas,
requires developing and reinforcing existing cities and towns. · Preserve agriculture
and agricultural areas, which play an important role in protecting the
environment and constitute the “green lungs” of Israel. · Industrial parks and business
centers are an important source of income for local authorities. These should be concentrated on a regional
basis in order to serve several districts simultaneously and situated close to
the cities containing most of the workforce.
New laws need to be passed in order to enable an equitable distribution
of income from these business areas to the neighboring districts in a way that
will make the areas economically feasible and financially attractive for all
concerned · Invest in education to
raise awareness and develop environmental leadership among the public in
general and the youth in particular. · Design and implement a
comprehensive energy plan for the country that blends efficiency with the utilization
of environmentally friendly and sustainable energy sources. · Adopt a clear and firm
environmental policy. Implement progressive standards regarding the various
environmental issues, and allocate appropriate resources to public relations, education,
monitoring, and enforcement of environmental laws and planning. · Play an active role in
preventing and minimizing regional and global environmental hazards while
adopting and implementing international agreements for protection of the
environment. Keeping Israel clean and beautiful must become the national motto. Our national consciousness must internalize
that this not simply an issue of esthetics but one of national health –
literally and figuratively. 8.
War on Traffic Accidents
Since 1990, approximately 500 people have been killed each year on
Israel’s roads. In a country with less
than 7 million people, there have been over 7,000 deaths during the years
1990-2003. During these years, 542,000 people
were injured, 48,000 of them seriously. The time has come for a major change in the way that we deal with the
prevention of traffic accidents. The
prime minister and the entire cabinet need to become personally responsible for
the war on traffic accidents and must be held publicly accountable for the
results. This responsibility will be expressed in: · Announcement of measurable
multi-year goals together with a public commitment by the prime minister to
achieve these goals and to provide fully transparent ongoing reports on these
efforts. · Establishment of a
central authority – comprised of renowned professionals – which will coordinate
the inter-ministerial activity, authorize the utilization of budgets and be
responsible for setting standards. · Adoption of a
multi-year national plan anchored in law.
Among its primary objectives: -
Construction of a much safer road infrastructure that takes
into account human engineering considerations as reflected in clear road signs
and markings, safe highway curves, sufficient vantage ranges at intersections,
wider shoulders for incapacitated vehicles, physical barriers between opposing
traffic lanes and illumination of dangerous roads and intersections. -
Defensive driving courses – with state-of-the art material –
must become part of the core curriculum in all high schools. Such courses must be compulsory for all
adults wishing to obtain a driver’s license and for repeat traffic offenders. -
Utilization of state-of-the-art technology for enforcement
and deterrence, particularly with regard to the type offences linked with
serious accidents rather than the current practice of focusing on offences that
are easy to detect but which contribute little to accidents. -
Determination of mandatory standards for advanced safety
systems used by commercial fleets and public vehicles. -
Formulation of a uniform judicial policy for traffic courts
to reduce the considerable variance in sentencing for identical offences. Education Work Plan If strong socio-economic foundations are a necessary condition for
national security, then education is the primary element that gives these
foundations their strength. More
specifically, education is the basic national infrastructure. It is a primary factor in providing equal
opportunities for full realization of individual abilities. The better the education and the lower the
educational gaps, the greater the benefit to society. While it is difficult to understate the importance of a good education
system to the country, it is hard to overstate the extent that Israel’s
education system has deteriorated, particularly in its ability to provide its
students with high quality skills in critical core subjects: · The scholastic
achievements of Israeli children are among the lowest in the industrialized
world. · Educational gaps
between Israeli children are the widest in the West. · The achievements of
the brightest pupils – from whose ranks will emerge an important part of the
generation that will lead the country in the future – are below those of
similar pupils in all of the industrialized countries, and also in relation to
a number of other countries whose standard of living is currently lower than
that of Israel. The problems plaguing Israel’s education system are endemic. They are not rooted solely in the quality of
the teachers, nor do they stem just from inferior educational programs or from
inefficient and wasteful management. The
lack of flexibility throughout the system has only amplified and accelerated
the decline. The failure is
systemic. It is not possible to continue
like this anymore. Because the problems are profound and their socio-economic implications
so severe, it is no longer sufficient to deal only with the symptoms. Hence the need for a comprehensive structural
reform of the entire education system. Without
substantial improvement in the level of basic education and the provision of
equal educational opportunities to its schoolchildren, Israel will have a hard
time competing in a modern, competitive global economy. Without serious enhancement of the “toolbox”
that we provide our children, we cannot expect fundamental change in behavioral
norms that are eroding the foundations of Israel’s society and government. Such improvement can occur only as a result
of changing the emphases of the school system, instilling a mandatory, high
quality core curriculum, increasing the transparency of expenditures and
achievements, implementing differential funding that directs additional
resources to children in weaker neighborhoods, and vastly increasing the
efficiency of the education system. Objectives
¬
Introducing an identical – high quality and mandatory – core
curriculum in all the education systems. ¬
Providing truly free and complete education from the age of
three to 12th grade. ¬
Significant improving student achievements. ¬
Closing gaps and providing equal opportunities to each
pupil. ¬
Bolstering the teacher’s status, authority and
professionalism. Changes of this magnitude can only be accomplished at the national level,
which means that overall responsibility for attaining these objectives lies
with the government of Israel.
Policies Required for Achieving the Objectives
1.
Setting Uniform Criteria for all Pupils
· Providing pupils with
a high-quality core curriculum, identical and mandatory for all education
systems. Despite the great diversity in Israel’s population, there must exist a
common set of core values, as well as a common set of skills and knowledge
required for functioning as citizens in a democratic society and as productive
workers in an open, competitive and modern economy. The social gaps in Israel’s society are
widened by the economic fractures at their core – and these are determined in
no small part by the immense variation in educational levels that determine
each individual’s point of entry into the global job market that we are now a
part of. Already, the average worker
changes jobs several times each decade.
Thus, there is a need for a state-of the-art, uniform, core curriculum that
will provide an identical basic “toolbox” to every pupil throughout the school
system: -
The basic “toolbox” must be considerably improved. This includes
a significant upgrading of the educational levels in core subjects such as Civics,
History, Hebrew, English, Mathematics, Science, Geography and Literature. -
The core curriculum must be uniform in content and in
quality if the future economic playing field is to be level. While Israeli
society is characterized by numerous lifestyles, each of which demands an
education that reflects its distinct social and religious perspective, there is
only one economic market in which all the country’s citizens must compete and
thrive without becoming a burden to society. Therefore, a country that wants an
egalitarian – and not just a successful – society must ensure that the improved
core education be provided at equal levels in all its education systems, in all
its towns and neighborhoods, in all parts of the country. · In order to receive a
license, each school in Israeli must adopt and implement the core curriculum. Any and all public money provided to a school
must be conditional upon full acceptance and implementation of the core
curriculum. · The State of Israel must
provide free education to every child, regardless of their needs or
ability. An Israeli is an Israeli is an
Israeli, without any relationship to his or her ethnic or religious
background. Each must be provided with
the most basic civil right, the right to build their personal futures, and to
partake in the building of our collective future. The education of our children – each and
every one of them – must become a national priority second to none. Only at the national level is it possible to provide a comprehensive
solution to the educational needs of the country’s population. Only a national
mechanism with the mandatory systemic perspective can reduce regional, ethnic
and religious gaps. This is the role of the state – and not of local
authorities or philanthropic/voluntary organizations. Therefore, the government of Israel’s education budget must include
sufficient funds for providing education – at a far higher standard than that
currently provided – that is truly free for every pupil from the age of three
up to completion of high-school. · Supplementary funding
will be provided to individual schools on the basis of the socio-economic composition
of their respective populations and also as an incentive for rewarding school
achievement. · Better achievements
require better classroom environments. This
includes installation of air-conditioning and heating in all classrooms and a
stipulation that average class sizes be similar in all the education systems –
with no more than 25 students in any given class. · A longer school day
will be introduced – with qualified teachers only – including a hot lunch for
every pupil, served in a proper dining room. Once the entire teaching staff is present in the school every day and
all day, it will be possible to provide additional class time and make the
transition to a longer school day and a longer school year in all parts of the
country. Providing more attention to
each pupil, augmenting the curriculum, developing special skills and motivating
excellence are preconditions to better educational achievements. These measures constitute the first step in raising the general level of
attainment in the country and reducing educational gaps, since the state will supply
the augmentation that parents who can afford it already provide today. The
presence and the availability teachers in school after formal teaching hours is
very important for students who must currently seek expensive assistance from
private tutors. Introduction of a five-day school week enables the education system to
make the transition to a longer school day. This has many consequences beyond the
education system. The transition of the entire education system to a five-day
week will be a catalyst for the rest of the country – i.e. those businesses
that have yet to do so – to make the transition to the five-day work week common
in other Western countries. The transition of the entire economy to a five-day
work week will alleviate the problem experienced by many families whose
children remain alone at home on Fridays while the parents are at work. The transition of schools to a work day, a work week and a work year
that are synchronized with the rest of the economy will enable many parents to
join the workforce – which in turn will provide a positive contribution to their
standard of living. 2.
Bolstering the Status of Teachers
· A substantial increase
in teachers’ salaries alongside a significant improvement in quality of the
teaching workforce. · The professional
training of a teacher in Israel will require at least an undergraduate degree
(BA or BSc rather than the currently acceptable BEd), in addition to a teaching
certificate. · The number of work
hours per day and work weeks per year for full-time teachers be similar to the
norm in other sectors of the economy.
This will enable the employment of fewer teachers and raise the salary
of those already employed. · There needs to be more
flexibility in the employment of teachers and in the determination of their
salaries to enable a system that provides appropriate financial incentives for
achievement. Every attempt should be made
to complete this transition in cooperation with the unions representing the
teachers. · Each teacher must have
their own workspace in the school. 3.
Structural Changes in the Education System
A. At the
National Level · The ELA commission,
which preceded the Dovrat commission, recommended the establishment of a
professional and non-partisan National Education Authority. It will have the authority to determine the
credo and the core curriculum of the education system. This Authority will comprise a maximum of
20-25 professionals and a small administrative staff. · The Ministry of
Education will be charged with setting policy for the education system in
keeping with the credo and core curriculum set by the National Education
Authority. · The Education Ministry’s
districts will be abolished. · The current plethora
of supervisors will be considerably reduced, to be replaced by an independent –
of the Education Ministry – national authority for measurement and assessment. Data from this authority will enable the
Ministry of Education alone, without intervention and duplication of
responsibilities from any other ministry, to supervise each of the schools in each
of the education systems throughout the country. B.
At the School Level · Financial resources
will be provided to the schools according to transparent and equal budgetary
classifications, with supplementary funding that takes into consideration the
socio-economic status of the student population and incentive programs. · All decisions
regarding classroom activity, school maintenance, manpower and financial
management will be transferred to the schools. · The school principal
will prepare work plans and translate them into budget proposals that will be
submitted to the school’s board (defined below) for approval. The principal will be responsible for
implementing the work plans, achieving the goals, adhering to the budget, and
for hiring and firing teachers (subject to labor agreements). · The principal must
have professional management training and should preferably – but not necessarily
– be an experienced teacher. · A school board will be
established in each school with functions parallel to a corporate board of
directors. The board’s main duties will
be to -
Supervise the work of the principal. -
Approve the school’s work plans and budgets. -
Approve hiring and firing of teachers. The
School Board will comprise representatives of four groups: the Ministry of
Education, the municipality, parents and teachers – with a majority of
representatives from the ministry and the municipality. C.
At the Local Level A new system of checks and balances will be established between the national
government (the main source of budgets), the municipality (the official
representative of the local educational interests), and the end users in the
school (who will now receive far wider freedom in utilizing money). The municipality’s roles will include: · Running a municipal
education board. -
The municipal education board will set educational targets –
over and above the national core curriculum – adapted to local community
preferences. -
Members of the municipal education board will represent
local interests on each of the school boards within its jurisdiction, thereby
enabling the municipality to have an input on the choice of principal, the
school’s educational targets, and also the approval of the principal’s work
plan. -
The municipality education board will determine the local
registration areas and the method for assigning students to the different
schools. · While the school’s
basic budget will be financed entirely by the Education Ministry – for the reasons
specified above – the municipality will augment the school budget in order to
provide for local educational priorities. · The municipality will
be responsible for construction of new schools according to the needs determined
jointly by the municipality and the Education Ministry. Funding will be from the national budget
according to common national criteria for all schools. · The municipality will
include the schools within its jurisdiction in holiday festivities and other
community events. · The municipality
should cooperate with the schools’ management to find ways of utilizing school buildings
after hours, so as to generate additional income to supplement the school’s
budget. 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
¬
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. The
underlying socio-civic foundations upon which Israel’s military strength is based
have been steadily deteriorating over the past three decades. During the early years of the State, there was
no doubt as to the source of the clear and present danger confronting us. But in the subsequent decades, a number of socio-civic
trends have gradually begun to develop that are slowly but surely disintegrating
the basic fabric of society, the economy and the government. ·
In a country where publicly elected officials are not guided
by the laws of the land, it is not surprising that strong-armed tactics,
corruption and deception are becoming accepted and excusable norms for
attaining one’s objectives in society as a whole. ·
In a country where violence in the family, against women and
on the roads has long since escalated from the verbal to the physical, who can
be surprised that the number of victims of such violence surpasses the number
of terror victims? ·
In a country with slow economic growth and extraordinarily
high levels of poverty and inequality, it is time that we internalize that fact
that our socio-economic trajectories are not etched in stone, even though they
may seem to be. Our destiny is not in
the hands of heaven – it is in ours. ·
In a country that has permitted such widespread decline in
the education of core subjects since the sixties, and the creation of the
largest educational gaps in the Western world, the future that it is creating
for its children should be obvious to all. ·
In a country weighed down by a huge tax burden – whose
national priorities are reflected in patients lying in hospital corridors,
pensioners living in poverty and a meager health basket – there are nonetheless
sufficient resources for investing vast amounts in territories that will never
become part of a Jewish-democratic state, and for distributing large amounts of
public funds to special interest groups and cronies with connections. ·
In such a country, the problem is not a lack of funds, but a
serious loss of direction. This is not how the Zionist dream was supposed to
have come to fruition. It should be
clear that it is not enough that our shores serve as a sanctuary for the Jewish
people – since after the refuge is provided for the parents, what will keep
their children here? Public
internalization of this bottom line has major ramifications for the national
priorities that we choose today, which determine the kind of country that we’ll
have tomorrow. The Jewish people’s national home must aspire to be
an “or la’goyim”, or global beacon, as a strong, vibrant and moral egalitarian
society, with the highest living standards in the world – and the lowest
poverty rates. It is all up to us. This
is a truly special people, whose very survival to the present day indicates its
internal resilience and ability to overcome obstacles and regenerate itself. It is time to wake up, and to return to our senses. Nothing less than the future of the third
temple hangs in the balance – a future that is not set in some distant horizon,
but one that stands upon the threshold of our children’s generation. The fear is not from a strengthening of our
enemies, but from a weakening of our children – through our own doing. The
socio-economic and civic fabric that we produce for them today will determine
their ability to contend militarily with future enemies, and economically with
future competitors. The
time has come for setting new national priorities: an Israeli initiative to
protect its citizens and determine its borders; a comprehensive policy to
improve the employment situation; recognition of education as a fundamental
infrastructure and national objective; systemically addressing social rifts at
their source; an unrelenting war with “zero tolerance” on violence, corruption
and other crimes; reforming the system of government to enable governance, law
enforcement, implementation of long-range policies and the reviving of public
trust in the political system. The
time has come for true leaders with the rare mixture of vision, imagination,
integrity, an ability to see the big picture and a sense of mission that will
enable implementation of the necessary changes. Our collective spirit of togetherness as a people and
our sense of joint purpose keeps most of us here – and these provide the well
of support and strength from which a true leader can draw upon for the sectoral
concessions needed to bring about a general recovery of Israel’s society and economy. We are brothers in this small vessel called
Israel, but our destiny will be the fateful waterfall if we don't come to our
senses immediately and begin rowing in the same direction to a safe shore –
which is still attainable.
|