Structural Reform
The Existential Threat
Cohesive Society
Major societal groups in Israel hold completely opposing values and visions and are prepared to fight to defend them. Each side feels that opposing values are being imposed upon them, threatening their way of life and the vision for Israel's future. They act through the existing governmental mechanism to entrench their own values and block the initiatives of the opposing side. This battle of values cannot be resolved through mediation, nor can it be won.
Competitive Economy
Certain populations that rely on economic support but do not integrate into workforce or contribute sufficiently to state revenues are rapidly growing. In light of the anticipated increase in security and economic challenges, this situation is unsustainable. Within two decades, the burden on the group subsidizing the others will become too heavy, potentially triggering a "run on the country" – depleting the public treasury, and Israel's economic and national resilience will erode.
Competent Government
Competent Government is impossible under the current system. Israeli government, which has proven to be unstable, is neither strategic nor effective, does not manage risks, and has no accountability for elected officials. Its deeply centralized structure led to the introduction of internal brakes into the system, which breed gridlock while ensuring that one group must always impose its values on others.
Comprehensive Security System
Together, these risks undermine Israel’s future security and
prosperity through division, economic instability, and structural incompetence. October 7 was a tragic
reminder of the cost of low resilience.
The Conditions that Any Reform Must Satisfy
Any new system must continue to explicitly recognize the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.
Israel, as a democratic country, must continue to uphold the full equality of basic rights for all its citizens.
Any new system must strengthen the four key pillars.
Everyone carries their own weight
The new system must ensure that all groups equitably share the country’s common burdens (economic and other). It must also guarantee that members of the group pay for decisions related to their chosen lifestyle.
Stable rules of the game
The basic laws, including those ensuring compliance with the above conditions, must become stable over time such that only a significant supermajority can change them.
Stopping the values war
The current system necessitates a constant fight between key groups in Israel with mutually incompatible core values, visions, and lifestyles who defend their way of life. Rendering the fight obsolete does not require compromising on core values. Instead, the new system must guarantee that every citizen can belong to their desired group and have the legal right to a lifestyle according to that group’s core values, without others infringing on this right or forcing them to adopt their lifestyle.
Decentralized and competent government
The government under the new system must be decentralized and transparent and accountable to the public. Its design must produce a highly professional and competent government with institutions built for strategic thinking and risk assessment, regardless of the ruling coalition’s identity.
The Process to Fix The System
Though a unique process, we will develop, discuss, and agree upon a new system of governance and, finally, approve it via referendum.
Special Law of Reform (SLR)
The law will create two committees involved in the drafting of the new system.
Expert Committee
The Expert Committee will consist of experts from a variety of fields. They will be nominated by the Knesset proportionally to its makeup and screened for their qualifications by an independent committee. The experts will produce between one and three proposals which will each include a new constitution.
Citizens' Assembly
The Citizens’ Assembly will be a group of several hundred citizens randomly chosen by The Israel Population Authority to represent each of the key groups in Israeli society. They will provide robust feedback to the Expert Committee and help reduce the complexity of the proposals. Their aggregate non-binding rankings of the proposals will be publicized to the public.
The subsequent period of public deliberation and feedback on the provisional proposals will include direct education, media appearances by the committees’ members, town halls, surveys, and more, as dictated by the State Election Commission.
The final proposals will then be presented in a referendum.
SLR will stipulate that the results of the referendum are binding and will come into effect immediately, along with the constitution. The sitting Knesset will legislate the auxiliary laws necessary to make the system functional and the next elections will be held in accordance with the new system.
Garnering Public Support
The proposed process focuses on getting the public to demand the legislation of SLR from their representatives.
Only broad public demand will compel a large number of parties to commit to a deep structural reform process.
How can this be achieved?
