Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem Blog

In addition to my work as a business coach, one of my interests is blogging about life in Israel. This is a country full of contrasts – over eight million citizens living in an area the size of Wales. You can see snow and the lowest place on the globe in the same day. Although surrounded by geopolitical extremes, Israel has achieved a decade of high economic growth. My work brings me in contact with an array of new companies, exciting technologies and dynamic characters. Sitting back with a relaxing cup of strong tea (with milk), you realise just how much there is to appreciate in the Holyland. Large or small operations, private sector or non profit, my clients provide experiences from which others can learn and benefit.

Israel’s Prime Minister is currently facing two criminal investigations by the police. In a third case, a probe is considering whether his lawyer and others used their priviledged positions in order to push the navy in to purchasing submarines that were not essential.

While I am no fan of the PM, I would like to think that he is innocent. (This is what I had said some years ago about a previous PM, Ehud Olmert, who is now incarcerated in prison). In any event, it will be a big ask for the police to proof that Netanyahu took a bribe and also that he then handed out favours as a consequence.

So, let us assume that he is innocent. What is wrong with that? Well, the answer will eventually lead us back to those submarines.

Step back for a moment and look at which other politicians are under investigation at the moment. In February 2017, there are at least 32 municipalities, where senior politicos are either in prison or under investigation. Roughly half of the allegations are associated with various forms of corruption. About 10% of the cases centre around the theme of sexual abuse. Much of the rest involves abuse of power.

The municipalities include the well known such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Netanya. They encompass the smaller units. They are located in the middle of the country and also out-lying regions.

The common denominator is the centralisation of power in the hands and minds of a few individuals, who operate with few legal (or, apparently, moral) restraints. As for the office of the Ombudsman General, it has only 60 members of staff with which to handle 250 such authorities.

Not good. So let me move onto another story. The Hebrew newspaper, “The Marker” has revealed that 3,037 people from Israel and around the globe donated 46 million nis between 2011 and 2015 to more than one Kenesset member. However, the beneficiaries are frequently to be found on different sides of the political spectrum.

The insinuation is not that the money was offered illegally. The problem is that the donors – a.k.a. vested interests – are hedging their bets. What for me is worse is that the politicians either do not know, do not want to know or just simply do not care!

What I am getting at is that there is a culture of bending the rules, pushing back the norms, and thus pretending that nothing ill is happening. Well, there is a reason that people instituted these laws in the first place – either because corruption had taken place in the past and / or in order to ensure it would not happen in the future.

All this brings me back to those submarines. They were ordered from a company, which has a track history of using bribes to win orders. Well, so do many defense contractors around the globe. However, it is partially owned by a Lebanese businessman, who is a sworn enemy of Israel. Thus, potentially, he is able to lay his hands on a whole load of military secrets.

So, why was the navy pushed into this contract? Why was Netanyahu’s lawyer so heavily involved in cementing the deal? Where is the smell coming from?

Benjamin Netanyahu has been close to the centre of power for the best part of two decades, either as Finance Minister or Foreign Minister. In addition, he has been elected Prime minister of four occasions.

I am sure Netanyahu will claim many successes during that time. And I am bound to add one more – the perpetuation of a culture that fudges the boundaries between good governance and not good. This is a situation where the bad has become the new norm. It is so engrained that its perpetrators cannot see why it is damaging to the society they purport to protect.

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