Shelanu: Direct Representation For Israel

Shelanu: Direct Representation for Israel
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PROCEED.
 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 1 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

It feels good to help Israel

Sometimes, you have to wonder,
PM under microscope for Bank

Leumi shares scandal Israel ranked 28th (out of Olmert
159) Rebuked by Israeli Panel
on corruption list on Lebanon War
Fix the System

Israel carped for human trafficking
Israelis Lose Faith in New

World Bank: Israeli Gov´t Generation Of Leaders
Corruption Among Highest
in the West
Israeli Foreign Minister Calls on

Mofaz: Management failed in Olmert to Resign
2nd Lebanon War Israeli
Israeli Leaders Hit With Wave border town lives in the
Of Scandals
shadow of falling rockets

Why has Israel stopped helping herself?

Why the mediocrity?
 Only 2 out of 31 Israeli governments in 60 years have

completed their terms.
− Why the instability?
 Israel listed by the World Bank as among most corrupt
Western democracies.
− Why the corruption?
 Seven years of rocket attacks on Sderot.
− Why the incompetence?
 Citizen confidence in government at an all-time low.
− Why the decay?

Do Israelis choose mediocrity?
Do Israelis elect mediocre governments…
NO
− because they are stupid?
− because they don’t care?
− because they are unsuited for democracy?
Israelis have mediocre governments…

● because flawed systems of empowerment
and representation have produced a

“perfect storm” of bad governance.

The Perfect Storm of Bad Governance
 A proportional representation system

− a rejection of individual accountability to citizens
 A weakly constituted parliamentary executive
− with built-in conflicts of interest
 An artificial status quo
− preventing the development of a political mainstream
 A self-selecting, activist Supreme Court
− Institutional bias; legislating from the bench
 Weak checks against abuses of power
− inviting corruption, waste, and incompetence

Israel's Proportional Representation
Every voter votes for a single party on a national basis.

A party receives Knesset seats in proportion to votes it
receives. The party leadership allocates its seats.
Results of Proportionalism:
● MKs not directly accountable to public constituencies.
● Little incentive to find commonalities in the electorate.
Prevention of a national mainstream majority
● Small, narrow-interest parties benefit from niche voting
● A lack of organized public debate.
● Citizens lack access to MKs
● Patronage trumps public service

The Parliamentary Executive
The party with the most votes in the general election forms the executive,
subject to Knesset approval. Lacking a single-party majority, a multi-party
coalition is formed. VIP coalition MKs get lucrative ministry portfolios. If
the coalition disbands, the executive can fall to no-confidence votes.
Results:
● Conflict of interests: ministerial MKs serve the public in the
legislature and serve the PM as executive ministers.
● Executive forms without explicit majority endorsement of the
public.
● Coalition parties can extort the executive.
● Waste: ministries created to buy off coalition members.
Currently 28 separate government ministries.
● Instability: 29 of 31 administrations toppled in no-confidence
votes.
● NO CHECKS AND BALANCES as the executive and legislative
branches are NOT separated

A Self-Selected Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justices are selected by a 9-member committee in

which at least 5 are either sitting Supreme Court justices or may be
subject to the influence of sitting members of the Court.
Results:
− New judges selected to fit the political profile of
sitting judges
− Ongoing judicial “dynasties” marked by a lack of
diverse political perspective
− Greater probability of political bias in judgements.

An Activist Supreme Court
In 1995, the Supreme Court effectively declared the Basic Laws a

constitution, granting itself the power of judicial review over any new
laws. But Basic Laws fail the standards of educational, civic, and political
functions of a constitution.
Results:
− The High Court asserts jurisdiction over matters that
should fall under executive and legislative discretion.
− The legitimacy of popularly elected government is
challenged as the High Court “legislates from the bench.”
− Everything and anything becomes “justiceable.”

The Artificial Status Quo
 Single-issue, niche parties do not address the breadth of issues on the

national agenda.
 Negligible citizen influence on MK selection: < 5% of voters vote in
primaries; many parties don't have primaries.
 Small party MKs peddle legislative votes for influence.
Results:
 Citizen alienation from the political process
 Extreme swings in voter sentiment
 Erosion of shared national values
 Status Quo mediocrity trumps excellence
 Power grabbing trumps public service

Consequences of this Perfect Storm
 Incompetence  Instability
 Waste  Corruption
 Abuses of Power  National Disintegration
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

David Ben-Gurion’s Vision
 Ben-Gurion wanted to replace proportional
representation with a U.S.-type system in which
leaders would be elected from individual
constituencies.
 Ben-Gurion wanted to reform the system that

produced a corrupt, wasteful, ineffective "nation of
Prime Ministers.“
We can achieve this vision

Our Vision: Good Governance
 A constituency system based on individual responsibility

and public service
 Real separation of branches with checks and balances,
including a separately elected chief executive
 Supreme court appointment that avoids judicial self-
selection
 Formation of a political mainstream majority and a
strong national identity in Israel
 An empowered public with healthy national values

How We'll Get There
 Shelanu: A cultural movement to promote civic

empowerment and individual responsibility in
government and society.
 Education, organization, mobilization: nationwide
resources to help citizens achieve government “of the
people, by the people, for the people.”
 The Virtual Knesset national simulation
− A nationwide project to showcase direct representation
− A way for citizens to express their political will
− Preparation for a new generation of responsible
politicians

Shelanu, Me‘itanu, Avureinu
 Our Hebrew name is

− ‫ עבורנו‬,‫ מא ית נו‬,‫“( של נו‬Shelanu, Me’itanu, Avureini”)
− Of Us, By Us, For Us
− “... government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.”
 Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
 Israel can survive and excel if it adopts principles of

individual accountability and empowerment in
government and society. Excellence over status quo.
 Israel can have government of public service or
power-sharing; we can’t have both.
It is up to us.

What YOU Can Do
 Visit our web site at

− http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN
 Subscribe up to our email list at

− http://www.directrepisrael.org/EnglishLists/
 Have us address your synagogue, church, school, college,

or other organization.
 Forward this presentation to anyone who cares about
Israel
 Become a Shelanu volunteer
 Make a donation to help us carry on our activities

Contact Shelanu
 Web site: http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN

 Phone: +972 4 6398160 (Israel)
 Email: [email protected]
 Fax: +972 153 4 6398160 (Israel)
 Fax: (419) 781 - 4486 (U.S.)
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Shelanu: Direct Representation for Israel

Type the F5 key to begin the presentation.

The buttons on the bottom of the page

Previous Slide Slide Number Click this button to

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 1 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 1 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

PM under microscope for Bank

Fix the System

Israelis Lose Faith in New

Israeli Foreign Minister Calls on

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 2 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 3 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Only 2 out of 31 Israeli governments in 60 years have

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 4 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

Do Israelis elect mediocre governments…

Israelis have mediocre governments…

and representation have produced a

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 5 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 A proportional representation system

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 6 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

Every voter votes for a single party on a national basis.

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 7 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 8 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

Supreme Court Justices are selected by a 9-member committee in

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 9 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

In 1995, the Supreme Court effectively declared the Basic Laws a

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 10 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Single-issue, niche parties do not address the breadth of issues on the

 Extreme swings in voter sentiment

 Erosion of shared national values

 Status Quo mediocrity trumps excellence

 Power grabbing trumps public service

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 11 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 12 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Ben-Gurion wanted to reform the system that

We can achieve this vision

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 13 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 A constituency system based on individual responsibility

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 14 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Shelanu: A cultural movement to promote civic

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 15 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Our Hebrew name is

 Israel can survive and excel if it adopts principles of

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 16 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Visit our web site at

 Subscribe up to our email list at

 Have us address your synagogue, church, school, college,

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 17 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

 Web site: http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN

 http://www.directrepisrael.org/EN 18 © 2008 Shelanu  +972 4 6398160

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