This is not how Haim Bibas, chairman of the Local Government Center, imagined that he would move the day of the local elections, which was supposed to take place today, but was postponed to January because of the war. In recent weeks, he has been in pursuit of budgets, incessant firefighting and, worst of all, dozens of condolences and funerals, in the municipality he is in charge of, Modi'in-Maccabim-Reut, and in other cities and towns in Israel.
Now that the Finance Ministry has heard its cry and come to its senses, as Bibas describes it, it believes that local government must continue to be strengthened so that the State of Israel will not encounter another catastrophe. "In the meantime," he says, "about NIS 1 billion has been transferred, including, among other things, one-time grants, grants brought forward from the end of the year, and flexible budgets designed to enable the authorities to keep their heads above water and run forward."
War will change many things
Bibas sounded calmer about his cries from the beginning of the war, but his conclusion remained the same: "One thing is absolutely clear from this whole process – the local government, the IDF and the Home Front Command within it, are the only two operators who know how to deal with the home front, the residents. Therefore, we must continue to focus on creating budgets, reducing regulation, and transferring authority to these bodies. From the morning of October 7th we are under the stretcher. When we emerge from the emergency, we will demand that powers be transferred to the local government with full vigor. If we encounter deaf ears, we will embark on a fierce struggle."
IDF strikes in Gaza, photo: AFP
Without the local initiatives we saw in the first two weeks, what would have been the horror scenario?
"If it weren't for local government resources, we would be in a catastrophic situation. We've reached a point where we'll run out of oxygen in a moment."
But even now there are municipalities in bad shape.
"We go through all the authorities, conduct damage control. Without a doubt, authorities located in the envelope area – for example, Ashkelon, Netivot or Ofakim – should be treated differently. We insist on it. In the north as well, including Kiryat Shmona and others, we are monitoring in order to identify problems and demand appropriate resources."
How is the emergency situation handled in the north?
"In the north, the lessons have been learned, and we are already seeing readiness on a different scale in relation to the events that took place in the south."
Preparedness squad. Learn from what happened in the south, photo: Eyal Margolin Gini
Bibas refers to the alert squads, which in many places were the only line of fortifications of the settlements. "When we realized that there was an incident here that harmed national resilience and personal security, we demanded the very next day that alert classes be established. Within two weeks, we succeeded in setting up 143 on-call classes in the various authorities. In addition, we are beginning to prepare the ground for regular on-call classes. We are entering a long period, which could take years, in which we will have to respond. As a child born and raised in the north alongside Katyusha rockets and terror, we regularly had weapons at home. My father was part of the civil defense. In the envelope, alongside the heroism of the soldiers, the alert squads saved us from thousands more murdered."
This interview is read by quite a few parents, who wonder when their children will return to school.
"We are acting according to the instructions of the Home Front Command. At the same time, I believe that if there is a possibility to return children to school, to routine, that is a positive thing. At school a child is no less protected than at home. There are safe rooms, they do exercises and there are responsible adults. It is true that there is some risk involved, but according to the Home Front Command's reference scenario, this is a long-term event. We must create an emergency routine in the education system as well. When the education system works, we will be able to return the economy to activity. If the economy doesn't work, we will collapse."
Asylum. There are protected educational institutions, photo: Roni Shaitzer
Are there any plans to build additional protected spaces near schools and kindergartens?
"Yes, as much as possible. And in the end, it's a matter for the authorities. There is an addition in the south and north regarding safe rooms and miklot, and of course we will have to pay more attention to this. In Modi'in, for example, all homes and public and educational institutions include safe rooms. In other places, the situation is different, but we create green lanes for those who submit requests on the matter, and provide relief. In some authorities it works better, in others it doesn't. We will issue an orderly directive to all the authorities in order to reduce bureaucracy and regulation in setting up safe rooms and shelters as quickly as possible."
Do you think that October 7 is a watershed between the residents and the state?
"It's not just a fault line between the residents and the state. There is the State of Israel before October 7 and there is the State of Israel after. After the war, our greatest task will be to restore public trust in the country, restore people's sense of security, and of course ensure a rapid revival – of the envelope, of the necessary authorities. This war will change many more things along the way."
Transfer powers from the state
You talk a lot about transferring powers from the state to the local government.
"After COVID-19, we were in a long process of transferring powers, even in the previous government. Decisions have already been made to do just that, but the current government has stopped it for a thousand and one reasons. During the Corona emergency, we were the first to prove ourselves as the responsible adult in the field. But instead of translating it as a good and professional thing, some of the ministries changed direction and decided to stop the move. You ask why? I think these are irrelevant reasons, wrong.
"In the world, too, there is a transfer of authority between central and local governments, and local government is much more advanced because its importance is understood. And here, in Israel, it should have been many times more like this than in the Western world, precisely because we have many emergencies. In order to prepare for additional catastrophes, more powers must already be transferred to the local government."
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