In response to the research team’s conclusions, presented by the team leader, Adv. Dan Meridor, MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) said the following: “The government, as a public authority, is loosing its ability to perform; and no one is worried by this. We need to ask ourselves how much and how long we can let this continue. And this process is happening intentionally – it is happening because they [the government] want to emphasize other topics that are meant to strengthen certain sources and privatize many public services.”
MK Pines-Paz continued: “We might end up finding ourselves in a situation in which we provide less and less basic services to the public. We do not really feel accountable for the outcome – moreover, that security is privatized. The Israeli system is chronically instable and is unable to implement policy over a long run. In the Israeli system, the Prime Minister and ministers are barely ever chosen by the ability of their ministries and of the government… I remember what they tried to do when I was the Minister of Interior. You can’t privatize the Ministry of Interior, so instead of privatizing, they ‘dry us out.’ The Ministry of Science [Culture] and Sport, for example, is being privatized. Government ministries in Israel are either hung out to dry, or are being privatized. Even though public service is to a large extent anachronistic (there are many positive elements that exist in the business sector that are not found in public service), nevertheless I do suggest changing the system. Instead of privatizing, we should strengthen the public sector – especially where security is concerned. The business sector cannot replace the government in answering the security needs and the needs of the home front.”
MK Pines went on to call upon everyone to change their basic way of thinking about the ramifications of war on the Israeli economy. “I suggest that members of the government start thinking in terms of peace. We must arrive at a situation in which we make peace with the Arab world,” he said. “And that needs to be part of our security outlook, and our economic outlook. As Yitzhak Rabin said: ‘without real peace, we will not have real security.’”