The Likud doubted the spokesman's decision and the panic machine began to work | Israel Today

It is always impressive to see the moral panic machine in action.

This time, journalists and politicians were recruited to the panic to make sure that Yoav Kish from the Likud was thoroughly permeated, after tweeting that if the ombudsman approved the appointment of the chief of staff - an issue that is in political controversy - "she will be replaced immediately when we return to power." Kish could not beat the condemnation orchestra under the direction of Maestro Gideon Saar, the Minister of Justice. "Gangsterism," he tweeted in response. The threat itself the incident: "Even stormy water will not divert us from our path."

In any other context we would surely be deeply impressed by the deep commitment to statehood, but what to do that some of us have more remnants of historical decency.

Let us sail for the sake of memories to Goren Square in Petah Tikva, somewhere in front of the private home of the former ombudsman, Dr. Avichai Mandelblit.

Do you remember the signs we waved every Saturday? "Netanyahu's bodyguard" and the "family counselor" were especially popular. The same "coward" or "main jammer." Yaniv himself announced that "we stopped being nice" and prepared Mandelblit for "more surprises." Not polite to your taste? Well, Yaniv replied, "Mandelblit works for us.

He serves the public.

Let him not cry. "

Gideon Saar condemned Kish and the panic machine began to operate, Photo: Gideon Markowitz

Gangsterism from the right direction

This is the stage where you are supposed to say: no street protesters are the same as politicians.

They are right, but quite a few politicians, including incumbent MKs and candidates, joined the demonstrations on Saturday at the ombudsman's office, the whole purpose of which was to exert psychological-media pressure on Mandelblit.

The belligerent rhetoric and chanting of "Mandelblit Rag" did not particularly frighten them.

There were the chairman of the Labor Party and the party's elected representatives like Avi Gabay, Erel Margalit, Miki Rosenthal, or Meretz members like Tamar Zandberg and Zehava Gal-On. "That he is a legal adviser, and that he is not worthy of his position ... Netanyahu should go and take Mandelblit with him."

None of them, by the way, were frightened when the former Israeli prime minister and candidate in one of the election rounds, Ehud Barak, slammed Mandelblit and the then state attorney, Shai Nitzan: "What makes you a mollusk? A world disgrace on Balfour and you."

And in order to grant this phenomenon an ethical kosher certificate, the Supreme Court accepted the petitions against the police's intention to remove the demonstrations from the ombudsman's residence, arguing that these demonstrations "are not an 'inferior' expression worthy of protection on a limited scale, but an exercise of the right to freedom of expression." Recognize the symbolic value of Goren Square as a protest heritage site.

Protest demonstration outside Mandelblit's house in Petah Tikva, Photo: Gideon Markowitz

All this flashback is not meant to point to hypocrisy, but to emphasize another point: the forceful politicization of the ombudsman did not begin with Yoav Kish, but in Goren Square, when all mind-shaping systems collaborated with gangsterism in the opposite direction: systematic scheming, harassment, insults and terrorism. Psychologist backed by senior politicians and Supreme Court justices - to make sure Mandelblit makes the right decision.

And the point is that this is not necessarily a negative phenomenon: not when it comes from the activist left, nor when it comes from the governing right.

In response to the "threat to Shayit" spokesman, former police commissioner Roni Alshikh lamented here this week the "disparaging treatment of anyone who is not elected by the public", mentioning that in the old democracies it is customary to treat civil servants, civil servants, as guardians The apolitical public interest ", emphasizing that these are" professionals ".

A decent and stately argument, no doubt, and at the same time naive.

Alshikh, as in Rabbi Miara or Mandelblit before her, surely want to think of themselves as operating according to "professional standards."

But there is no reason to assume that the laws of nature that apply to any social group - from a school class to a golf club - do not apply, and even more so, to bureaucratic and resource-intensive bureaucratic organizations.

"Professional Criteria" are often a recommended verbal cover for group thinking patterns, cognitive biases, and blind loyalty to conceptions.

And powerful mechanisms tend to crowd lines in the face of external threats, fight change, cooperate with other centers of power and do everything in their power to protect interests.  

The era of immunity is over

In the face of these tendencies, consistent and systematic, and especially reliable, civic supervision is needed, but the Israeli legal system is for some reason coated with a protective teflon, and every word of criticism against it evokes the reflex of condemnation.

Even the military establishment does not receive these discounts in militaristic Israel.

The trauma of '73 eliminated the era of idols in uniform, and since that war, every failure has been a failure that requires a commission of inquiry, and every operational or routine activity supervised by organizations and associations and biting media.

Well, when it comes to law enforcement systems in Israel, it has been proven that justice was done with Eldad Yaniv.

The things that have come up so far in the Netanyahu trial - from the holes and oversights in the indictment to the outrageous interrogation methods - in retrospect justify a demand for transparency, supervision and criticism.

And when a defense minister in a transitional government works to appoint a chief of staff when his political interest is exposed, it is also permissible to question the "professional standards" of the ombudsman who prepares the controversial move.

"Threats must not be threatened," they say.

Right;

But this is the price of fossilization in the face of a required process and in a positive interpretation of the democratization of the legal field in Israel.

The era of immunity is over, and it is good that it is.

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