Anyone for whom the future of the State of Israel is important should be concerned about the public trust report in government institutions, published yesterday by the Israel Democracy Institute.
Justice President Yitzhak Herzog was right when he said that the continuing erosion of public trust in all institutions is a "warning sign for all of us."
If it continues, it may affect some of the systems' ability to function, and subsequently - the degree to which citizens comply with the law.
From here to anarchy, the road is short.
Most disturbing is the decline in public confidence in the IDF
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which was exposed in "Israel Today" about two weeks ago
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to a 13-year low. Segmentation of the data reveals part of the reason: This year, there was a breach of trust in the IDF among right-wing elements. The report's editors believe that this is due to the change of government, and to the absolute identity that many Israelis have developed between Benjamin Netanyahu and the State of Israel.
The IDF responded to the report as expected - "The IDF is the people's army and public trust is an important component in the realization of its mission," the response said - but its conduct is different. Of the Israel Democracy Institute, as if it were a competition for those who have less bad data; but also the negotiations that have been going on for weeks with the institute, in an attempt to present a better picture than the real one.
The IDF demanded that the institute conduct an average between data from a survey conducted in June (90%) and end-of-year data (78%). The institute refused, and rightly so. A brighter reality. Instead of playing with the numbers, the IDF and its leaders should stop telling themselves stories and look reality in the eye.
The situation is not good;
Not catastrophic, but the trend is problematic and needs to be addressed.
Ranging from seemingly minor matters, such as transportation and food, through the general attitude to the reserve army, which requires a dramatic improvement in every parameter, and ending with value issues from which the IDF and the chief of staff flee like wildfire.
It is easier to be photographed with a naval officer who survived the helicopter crash than with Golani fighters who were attacked in the Chumash, but these and these are soldiers who deserve treatment and attention.
Whoever wants to win the next war has to invest in intelligence and the air force and lethality, but he mostly has to invest in people.
The advantage of the IDF begins and ends with them, and so does the public's trust. This is, quite simply, the whole story. If the chief of staff and the IDF do not understand this, the crisis of trust will only worsen.
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