In his first exclusive interview with "My City" – the municipal podcast of Israel Hayom, Tal Basaks, the civilian project for the rehabilitation of the home front, says that the plans we prepared for in advance "worked in part – not according to all the scenarios for which the state was prepared. There will be time to examine why they acted according to one scenario or another - why they evacuated to a hotel and not to community centers or schools as originally planned. I think there are a lot of justified reasons as well, and there were reasons why it shouldn't have been done. As a projector, I look at how at this point in time we create a map that talks about the evacuees independently, and the second – and more important – task of how to create a reality of returning the residents home. I'm talking about the residents of the south – not the residents of the envelope. These days, very significant actions are being taken by the state for this purpose."
Tal Baskes, Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
According to him, the role of the projector in the Civil Control Center is to act as an integrated headquarters body for the socio-economic cabinet and deal with all the problems that arise from the civilian challenges that the war creates. He works with government ministries, local government, and civil society and philanthropy bodies in order to present a picture of the challenges facing the economy and create solutions.
"The second task is to lead, together with the Cabinet Secretariat, the socio-economic cabinet – to put proposals on the agenda and to monitor decisions after implementation," he explains. "The third part is explaining the government's activities."
Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, photo: Paul Jonathan Zindel/Flash90
There are 125,<> evacuees, and for weeks no one in the government has been able to track them. How is it possible that the country prepared for years for emergencies – and at the moment of truth, everything collapsed?
"Government ministries and relevant bodies entered an event that no one anticipated in any scenario. I must say that relatively speaking, government ministries and bodies came to their senses quite quickly. It's true, civil society bodies have provided a response, in disaster events – civil society also mobilizes and government ministries and establishment bodies enter simultaneously."
Didn't they know that war could break out?
"The State of Israel has not evacuated nearly 200,<> residents from the south and north. When you evacuate this number of residents, the state is not used to it. The systems are supportive. There is something to improve."
[Ledi Sderot evacuated with "Hibuki" dolls at the Grand Court Hotel in Jerusalem, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
According to him, the first challenge is to ensure the return of the residents of the south to their homes, in accordance with security considerations and in accordance with the wishes of the residents. "When a person leaves his place of residence, difficulties arise. Anyone who lives in the south and moved to the Dead Sea – the reality is that it will be difficult for him to get to work. This is a complex reality, the state dealt with it – and money was not lacking – the state compensates. The problem is the personal problem. People need to go home and get a full security envelope."
Hundreds of residents of Eilat, the south and evacuees from the north participated in the rally in Eilat // Photo: Ran Shmueli
Does this have a schedule?
"Yes. The goal of all of us, taking into account that we are operating in a reality of uncertainty, a security reality – and we ultimately act and function according to what the security officials instruct us, but the goal is for the first communities to return (to normal) at the end of this month or at the beginning of January."
The full interview on the "My City" podcast from Israel Hayom. Listen to the episode - and other interesting episodes
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