Israel's Politicians and Bureaucrats

Old and new in Tel Aviv: Russian embassy in front of new bank building - Rothschild Blvd.

Politicians attract media like moths to light especially in Israel. But here the bureaucrats really run things. Bickering between the two fills newspaper pages. This is what Israelis really want to know and in all its gory details. Political aids moving to administrative positions make good stories. Bureaucrats holding back a big project like the new rail line to Jerusalem or the electric coal plant two years late in construction are even better. School budgets and the shameful state of affairs with the teachers are always good stories. Water issues and the 10 years of bickering over a desalination plant, which nobody really wants in their back yard (remember the American NIMBY movement?) [see existing plant] Israel's politicians are no different than most democratically elected officials, they boast and promise great things before elections. What happens once politicians are elected and they face the bureaucrats running the government? Well, we call it bureaucracy. Politicians complain, say that things could be better, that decisions and actions have to be made more quickly, that process (American investment lawyers call it 'due diligence') always hold back good plans. The bureaucrats are not phased by politician's promises without meaning, budgets and trade-offs. Following laws and regulations, assuring proper process, making sure the public's interest is taken care of that makes them happy.

Israel's bureaucracy is a blend of British imperialism and European Jewish community organization. The British came, the British built structure, and the British left - and left their bureaucrats in the forms, hearings and thinking. Every former British colony lives with the good and bad legacy. India also got a great rail system, here they didn't built such a good one, the travel through Israel then was not such a great necessity. From the Jewish side, as minorities for centuries Jews always had their politicians and bureaucrats. As the state developed at first on socialist ideas (in the 1950's), government realized the need for a smooth running bureaucracy. Since than the system has grown in size and strength. On the positive side, things do get done uniformly and they grind slowly forward. The infrastructure in Israel is well developed and well managed. Planning large projects is done to western European and American standards and carried out to the satisfaction of most. This is probably one of Israel's least appreciated element in the state's success. Someone pushes the paper, there is very little corruption, process is detailed and slow, but you can count on it.

Israel's new rail line does not run to Jerusalem YET, but is running everywhere else on time

Foreigners are often surprised at the complexity and detail of Israeli bureaucracy. Somehow they expect a small country to be run by a few strong politicians and businessmen. They also expect the legal system to be corrupt or at least under the thumb of politicians. Some expect it to be similar to the Arab world, harking back centuries and limited by Muslim ideals. The orthodox Jews coming here assume that a Jewish state will be run by Jewish laws and practices, maybe even similarly to small Jewish communities in eastern Europe 100 years ago. None of these are really the case. The state is small and the government is small in comparison to European countries and American states, but government bureaucracy is still well developed. One comment I heard recently from a retired south American military officer. He compares Israel to the military in south America with a small group generally setting policy and a large bureaucracy trying to keep the everyday operations running straight. Since Israel does have a strong military and the military structure is embedded into everyone at a young age, this idea is probably helpful in explaining life. So call it British legacy, Jewish meshugas or IDF military efficiency, bureaucracy is here to stay.

So when you come to Israel, don't take to heart the news media not paying much attention to Israel's bureaucrats. They are usually not interested in giving interviews on TV anyway. Once in a while you get a newspaper article about how one has taken care of some important function for 30 years and how unappreciative the people who see him as a dry humor bureaucrat. That's the way he wants it. In Tel Aviv, a city that has been running for 100 years, bureaucracy is an art. Paying bills, requesting permits, transferring ownership, making a complaint or even suggesting an improvement is not a simple matter. Actually, it's a simple matter if you know whats going on or you are a trusting soul. Simply follow the courteous bureaucrats' explanation, follow the processes and fill the forms. As they say "everything will be fine..." and smile :)