Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Foreign Ministry is a highly professional organization but understaffed and insuffi -
ciently fi nanced given the many issues and pressures faced by Israel. It is also responsible for
Israel's informational struggle, called
hasbara
; for running embassies abroad; and for dealing
with foreign diplomats in Israel. Career diplomats periodically complain that prime ministers
often give top ambassadorships to political appointees.
The prime minister can also take over key issues — especially relations with the United
States — or circumvent a foreign minister who doesn't enjoy the leader's confi dence for policy
or personal reasons. It is important to remember that the foreign minister is usually not some-
one freely chosen by the prime minister but is instead likely to be either the prime minister's
rival within his or her own party or the leader of the number-two coalition party.
Israel's security situation and the threats of war and confl ict make the Ministry of Defense
especially important, and prime ministers, as well as Knesset members, usually heed advice
from that quarter. Not only does the ministry run the armed forces and handle all weapon
purchases, but it also runs several defense industries. For the sake of its own security, the
Defense Ministry is the only government institution headquartered in Tel Aviv rather than
Jerusalem.
The prime minister usually has more freedom in choosing the defense minister, since it
is widely recognized that the country cannot afford the risk of picking someone who is not
fully qualifi ed. The problems with Peretz during the 2006 war underlined that point. Another
important factor is that the prime minister relies primarily on information supplied by mili-
tary intelligence, not, as in most other democratic states, on information supplied by civilian
intelligence agencies.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
As a geographically small nation with a small population, a focus on security and foreign
policy, and a political system that treats the whole population as a single constituency, local
government may seem less important than in other countries. Indeed, the local institutions
do not have much power, although they are responsible for elements of education, health,
social welfare, infrastructure, sanitation, and culture. A local authority might implement cer-
tain policies, but it is by and large the national government that makes the decisions. Utilities,
construction, education, and the police force are all directed from national ministries through
their own local agents.
The Ministry of the Interior oversees the network of local authorities and provides them
with funds. Additional income comes from local taxes, but the Ministry of the Interior con-
trols the level of tax each municipality is permitted to collect, making local governments even
more dependent on the national government.
Local governments' main powers are in education and religion. Educational policy is set
by the national Ministry of Education, but municipalities can raise money for schools. Then
the local boards of education can decide which policies to implement and how to do so. Lo-
cal councils can also decide the level of public religious observance that will occur in the area
under their jurisdiction, such as whether or not public transportation is permitted on the
Sabbath.
