Prime Minister Netanyahu should be very careful when he selects his ministers
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
Israel's new ministers will determine our fate
Op-ed: As the next government will likely be making decisions on critical war-related issues, the only consideration in selecting its members should be their compatibility for the position.
A tale about Israeli security idol Moshe Dayan says he once came to visit the IDF units on the Golan Heights. "How is that officer?" he asked the commander's commander there, almost whispering. "He's a good guy," the commander replied. "And that officer?" he asked about another. "He's a good guy," the commander answered again. Dayan replied angrily, "A good guy? Then give him to your sister or your wife. I need talented guys."
Why am I bringing this story? Because of the makeup of the new government
which Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to present in the coming days. Here’s some advice to the prime minister: Be careful when you select your ministers, because they are usually not a light unto the nations.
Today, by the way, such a sexist answer would have been met with bursts of poisonous reactions from the Internet firing squad.
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The natural tendency of a prime minister, any prime minister, is to choose the minister "who deserve it." Who is the minister who "deserves it?" It is his second and maybe even third term in the Knesset, he has good relations with the party's secretary in a certain town, and he mainly came in sixth in the primary elections. So now the "one who deserves it" will be appointed as coriander minister, and all of his problems will be solved and the prime minister will be satisfied.
Not every person who 'deserves to be a minister' is worthy of serving in a government which makes decisions of life and death (Photo: Marc Israel Sellem)
And then, let's assume that the Israeli government convenes to approve a decision to launch a war against Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, and maybe even a strike in farther arenas. The government votes equal life and death, and an entire nation's journey to the unknown now depends on the coriander minister's finger. The man who "deserves it."
And for knowledgeable people: I happen to know that such decisions are not made in the cabinet meeting. We haven't gone mad yet. But I still remember one cabinet meeting I participated in years ago, in which it was decided by just one vote to stop manufacturing the Lavi jet fighter. That finger led, among other things, to the dismissal of some 6,000 engineers and technicians.
The prime minister's only consideration in selecting his ministers should be their compatibility for the position. Not everyone who shouts louder and appears often (and too much) on Channel 2 and Channel 10's newscasts is worthy of serving in a government which determine our fate.
While there have been in the history of the Israeli administration geniuses who failed and small activists who succeeded in politics, they are the exception. The really good ones are the really good ones. Not to mention the fact that the next government may find itself making decisions on critical issues which we are unprepared for.
For example, candidates for the position of minister who are today expressing their opinion on the cost of housing and cost of living, and are convinced that it's the most urgent problem in the country right now, may soon discover that they must decide whether to launch another round of war in Gaza or respond to rocket fire from Lebanon. And those preparing themselves for the ramifications of the transfer of the Planning Administration from the Interior Ministry to the Finance Ministry, not that it's not important, should gain a very good understanding – from one moment to another – of regimental pincer movements and night raids on Hamas headquarters in Gaza, an aerial bombing of Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon and how will the Iranian will react.
If the next government, which will likely be sworn in in the coming days, plans to survive for four years, it will likely be a war government. In the best-case scenario, the war will be waged in one arena, while in the worst-case scenario, Iran and all its terrorist organizations will join the battle. This is of course a gloomy forecast, but the concern is real.
In the next government, the mayors and community heads will be more important and needed than the government ministers, apart from the security cabinet ministers of course. I may be wrong. You know what? I hope I am wrong. I will be the first person to gladly admit my mistake.
