MK Chaim Oron stated that "There is an overall feeling that we have reached a low-point regarding governmental norms, and I would like to share my view that the main problem does not lie in law or ethics but in governmental norms."
MK Oron, a member of the Knesset's Ethics Committee and Finance Committee, went on to say that "We avoid answering questions about norms. Social justice is not an ethical code. If there is a lack of social justice in Israel, it is a result of policy – of people that made decisions and didn't take responsibility for the consequences. The largest ethical breech is created when the public assesses politicians according to how well they manage to blur their opinions before they act. Would anyone have conceived that Sharon would execute the disengagement, or that Begin would give back Sinai? The public does not act according to basic norms according to which a representative of the public states his or her stances and is elected accordingly.
"Israeli society is stuck in a vicious circle of norms," continued Oron, "according to which there are certain things one does not do. The question is, why does this not work? It does not work because it does not interest anyone; there is no incentive for commendable public behavior – and no fine for poor public behavior. Until there will be positive reinforcement and negative repercussions, the main factor that influences decision makers will remain ineffective."
"I am generally not in favor of privatizing public services because it contains an inherent problem within: it relieves the government of its responsibility towards populations that feel discriminated against – and then these populations loose trust in the government. To a certain extent, my world view rests on that of Rabbi Kook, who defined the public as moral people, average people, and cruel people. The moral do not need law or ethics – they almost always act appropriately; the cruel cannot be helped – they will remain as such; and the average, which are the majority, are those who need the law, the framework which will allow the public to continue to be the public."
In addition to MK Oron, others who participated in this session include Adv. David Hodak, head of the GKH firm, who presented the research team's recommendations; Professor Dafna Barak-Erez, Law Faculty, Tel Aviv University; Mr. Shlomo Ziv, Chairman, BDO Ziv Haupt; Dalia Dorner, former member of the Supreme Court; President, Israel Press Council; and Dr. Daniel Kaufmann, the World Bank