At a time when 64 Knesset members are crying out (and rightly so) against violating the sovereignty of the Knesset as a legislator, in light of the current discussions in the High Court of Justice on some of the recent laws passed in the plenum, it is surprising that not a single one of them will cry out when the dignity of the Knesset as supervisor of the executive branch is trampled.
The Israeli legislative leaders, the 120 Knesset members, tend to forget that their main role in the Knesset is actually supervision of government work. The close cooperation created between the coalition and the government sometimes renders oversight toothless, but in other cases determined chairmen and hardworking opposition and coalition members succeed in creating significant change that touches the desired balance between the authorities.
The Incapacitation Law was approved in its first reading // Photo: Knesset Channel
Here's how the balance goes wrong
In order to be able to do their work in committees, Knesset members need to receive data and information from government ministries that they can analyze and process into decisions. This duet does not take place when Knesset members are suspected of leaks, so the information is kept at the operational level, and for justified and important reasons. And without information - there is no supervision and no balance.
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Photo: Ariel Hermony, Ministry of Defense
Members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who demanded a discussion on the IDF's state of competence following threats of refusal in the Air Force, mainly received, at their request (after much pressure), a discussion at the Kirya with the participation of the heads of the defense establishment and Defense Minister Galant. What was their surprise when, minutes into the hearing, Gallant informed them that he would not share data with them for fear of leaks.
Soon, without data, the debate became political, and most of it leaked out to the media, even on the pages of this newspaper. As soon as the Knesset members realized that they had been summoned to check off, they did what Galant feared they would do – leak.
The Egg and the Chicken
So are the leaks data-driven, or is it a lack of serious attention to Knesset members that generates leaks? The question is similar to the chicken and egg question. Even if politicians, including Knesset members, have earned a reputation as serial leakers from cabinet discussions or secret committees, they should first learn to remain silent.
However, keep in mind that we do not have an alternative method for the time being. Just as it is impossible to exclude the cabinet from making decisions about launching an operation in order to ensure that all considerations are taken into account for fear of leakage, so it is impossible to make the role of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as supervisor of the defense establishment redundant, leaving the information with a handful of confidants.
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