Israeli leaders have struggled to lose public confidence over the past year.
They did so when they violated the real health guidelines they had imposed on the population to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his youngest son Avner, who attended Passover Seder in defiance of health guidelines
(Photo: Screenshot)
They did so when they shifted pressure from a number of interested groups and reduced the same guidelines, making them less effective.
And they did so when they allowed entire sections of the population to neglect that guidance completely without any effect.
Ultra Orthodox men celebrate at a wedding held against health guidelines in Modi’in Illit in November
(Photo: Itamar Kirshenboim)
While the government acted solely on political interests, local authority leaders have emerged as effective and accountable leaders over the past year.
They took a step into the desert left by the government and despite a lack of money, had established themselves on the front lines in the battle against the virus.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and his cabinet took active steps to recoup the resources needed by local leaders to maintain interest in power. In this case there is the power of money. Keeping money back from cities makes them weak and dependent on the government.
Coronavirus testing center established by Tel Aviv Municipality
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Local authorities had always had money and struggled to pay their bills, even though Israelis pay extremely high taxes.
Now that the country is on the verge of its third national closure, let the local government take the lead in the fight against COVID-19.
In fact, they are the ones who operate our local education and welfare systems for us on a day-to-day basis, the infrastructures we use, such as water, electricity and communications.
Therefore, they should provide the means to provide the services that their residents are responsible for. They should have a means of assisting residents in need, maintaining infrastructure and meeting urban and personal needs.
Two sisters scan over zoom when schools are closed due to coronavirus spread
(Yair sagi)
In addition, they should decide for themselves whether schools should open or close and whether shops should be allowed to operate in their hometown.
Local authorities have a close knowledge of the numbers of diseases in the public in their care and can intervene early enough to prevent a surgeon in new cases, in a way that the government could not. .
They are better motivated to respond to the needs of their constituents. Afterall they are under the control of their occupants and any neglect or mismanagement will be called immediately.
Mayors meet with their residents every day, they know their problems and how best they can be solved. They also know how best to protect them.
Aviv phone during the third lock
(Photo: Motti Kimchi )
Following the government’s failure in response to the pandemic, some local leaders set up their own coronavirus testing centers. They came in to care for elderly residents and those who had been neglected before and during the crisis by the government, who should have been better served.
Israel should give cities and local councils the resources to care for their people and serve them to the extent they want and deserve.