Why Israel Needs a Better Political Class Its Twin Coronavirus and Budget Crises Are Problems Caused By—And Only Fixable By

Selected articles concerning Israel, published weekly by Suburban Orthodox Toras Chaim’s (Baltimore) Israel Action Committee Edited by Jerry Appelbaum ( [email protected] ) | Founding editor: Sheldon J. Berman Z”L Issue 8 5 9 Volume 20 , Number 3 8 Succos October 3 , 20 20 Why Israel Needs a Better Political Class By Evelyn Gordon mosaicmagazine.com September 29, 2020 Its twin coronavirus and budget crises are problems job finally given to the army, which does have the requisite caused by — and only fixable by — political leaders, not personnel. And the system still isn’t fully operational. bureaucratic maneuvering. None of thisabsolves Netanyahu, who could have Israel’s current political crisis exemplifies the maxim overruled Sadetzki but didn’t because he also opposed that hard cases make bad law. This case is desperate. Six involving the arm y, out of reluctance to share power with months after the coronavirus erupted and nine months his defense minister. It merely shows that letting the after the fiscal year began, Israel still lacks both a “professionals” take charge wouldn’t guarantee a better functioning contact - tracing system and an approved 2020 outcome. budget, mainly because Prime Minister Benjamin Nor is that the only problem. Civil servants are also Netanyahu is more worried about politics than the just as vulnerable as politicians to lett ing extraneous domesti c problems that Israel now confronts. The considerations influence their decisions. Both often abhor government’s failure to perform these basic tasks sharing power. Health Ministry bureaucrats opposed obviously invites the conclusion that civil servants’ far - outsourcing contact tracing to the army for the same reaching powers must not only be preserved, but perhaps reason Netanyahu did: they didn’t want to cede control. even increased. Both can also have con flicts of interest. This would be the wrong conclusion . Bureaucrats, Shaul Meridor, the treasury budget director whose especially when they have great power, are vulnerable to resignation opens Gur’s article, is a perfect example, as a the same ills as elected politicians. But unlike politicians, Ha’aretz report in September shows. Back in 2012, as a they are completely unaccountable to the public. less senior treasury official, he was actively involved in the That doesn’t mean Haviv Rettig Gur is wrong to deem Tzemach Committee, which drafted Israel’s natural - gas them indispensable. T hey provide institutional memory, policy. He pushed for letting more gas be exported rather flesh out elected officials’ policies, and supply information than reserving it for domestic consumption, a position the the politicians may not know and options they may not gas companies favored. The lawyer representing the have considered. Yet the current crisis shows in several companies at that time was none other than his brother, ways why they neither can nor should substitute f or Mattan Meridor. Later, in 2015, Shaul was appointed elected politicians. director general of the Energy Ministry and put in charge First, bureaucratsare no less prone to poor judgment of implementing the new policy. Mattan therefore stopped than politicians. As evidence, consider Siegal Sadetzki, part representing the companies in negotiations with the of the Netanyahu - led triumvirate that ran Israel’s initial ministry, but his firm continued to do so. response to the coronavirus. It’s unsurprising that Gur Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was convicted of ne ver mentioned Sadetzki even as he lauded the breach of trust in 2012 for not dissimilar behavior: in his triumvirate’s third member, former Health Ministry previous role as industry minister, he made decisions Director General Moshe Bar Siman - Tov; she and her benefiting corporate clients of a lawyer friend rather than fellow Health Ministry staffers are a major reason why recusing hi mself due to a conflict of interests. But there’s Israel still lacks a functional test - and - trace system. one significant difference: ministry bureaucrats had Sadetzki, an epidemiologist, was the ministry’s director opposed some of Olmert’s decisions, which was of public - health services and the only member of the considered evidence that he was motivated by favoritism triumvirate with professional expertise in epidemics (Bar rather than policy considerations. Meridor can neve r be Siman - Tov is an economist). As such, her input was accused of disregarding the bureaucrats’ judgments, crucial. Yet she adamantly opposed ex panding virus because he is the bureaucrat making the judgments. testing, even publicly asserting that “Too much testing will To be clear, I don’t think Meridor did anything increase complacence.” She opposed letting organizations criminal. (I wouldn’t have convicted Olmert in that case, outside the public - health system do lab work for either; I think politicians are allowed to disagree with coronavirus tests, even though the system was bureaucrats.) Nor do I blame him for the sweetheart deal overwhelmed. She opposed sewa ge monitoring to track the companies received, which left Israelis paying well the spread of the virus. And on, and on. above market rates for natural - gas even as promised Moreover, even after acknowledging that test - and - billions in royalties never materialized; Netanyahu badly trace was necessary, ministry bureaucrats insisted for wanted to get the gas flowing and pushed for major months that their ministry do the tracing despite its concessions to the companies to do so. glaringly inadequate manpower. Onl y in August was the Focus o n Israel October 3, 2020 Page 2 But it’s hard to deny that Meridor had an egregious follies will always be inherently limited. Indeed, Gur’s conflict of interests, of the type that would have outraged article underscores that point: the fight between the the legal establishment and the media had he been a “treasury youth” and the politicians over Israel’s politician. (The Jus tice Ministry did eventually step in, but coronavirus spending ended in the bureaucr ats’ complete very belatedly.) Being an apolitical civil servant doesn’t defeat. They resigned from the treasury, while the immunize anyone against extraneous considerations. politicians are still riding roughshod over budgetary norms. A third problemis that bureaucrats are often poorly For all these reasons, governance salvation cannot attuned to political sensitivities. Granted, that’s sometimes come from bureaucrats; it can only come from inculcating an advantage: Netanyahu has repeatedly gutted measures greater responsibility in our politicians. And in this regard, to curb the spread of the virus because he’s overly the bureaucrats’ already immense power is clearly attentive to his ḥ aredi allies. But sometimes, it ’ s a huge counterproductive. disadvantage — as demonstrated by that very same issue. As Gur correctly noted, the fact that unelected One reason the Ḥ aredim hav e repeatedly resisted such bureaucrats now decide the “fundamental questions that . measures is because they feel singled out for censure from . are considered the heart and soul of politics” has other Israelis who also haven’t been paragons of good produced a “trivialized” politics and irresponsible anti - viral behavior. Objectively, they haven’t been singled politicians. Once, people entered politics to shape the out. Health officials have targeted yeshivas and synagog ues coun try’s future. But for today’s Knesset members, rather than, say, the mass anti - Netanyahu demonstrations convinced that they have little chance of actually affecting that have been taking place in Israel for months because policy, garnering media attention through ever more infection is more likely to spread indoors than outdoors. outrageous statements and bills is one of the few things And officials have sought tighter restrictions on ḥ aredi they can do to feel like they matter. T hus if Israel wants a communities because Ḥ ar edim account for a responsible political class, it must reduce the bureaucrats’ disproportionately high share of COVID - 19 infections. power and thereby enable politicians to make their names Nevertheless, ḥ aredi grievance didn ’ t emerge from through policy rather than sensationalism. nowhere. Even during Israel ’ s first lockdown, long before It also needs to create personal accountability for evidence emerged that demonstrations pose a limited MKs. Israel is virtua lly unique among Western infection risk, Attorne y General Avichai Mandelblit and democracies in that its MKs aren’t directly elected and other senior legal officials insisted that protests be exempt therefore never answer to the voters for their conduct. from lockdown rules — not on health grounds, but because Since Israelis vote only for parties, MKs’ political futures protesting is a fundamental democratic right. That remains depend solely on their placement on their party’s slate. I n their position to this day. parties without primaries, that placement is determined by But legally speakin g, it’s not clear why freedom to the party leader. In parties with primaries, it’s determined demonstrate trumps free exercise of religion or freedom to largely by so - called vote contractors — representatives of earn a living — all are fundamental rights. Indeed, the last special - interest groups who can mobilize large numbers of could arguably claim precedence in Israel’s legal system, party members behin d their preferred candidates. since it’s the only one explicitly protected by a quasi - Solving this problem

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