Since the start of the Swords of Iron war on October 7th, 2023, the Knesset State Control Committee has been discussing the State Comptroller's previous reports that are relevant to the state of emergency currently prevailing in Israel. During the past few days, discussions were held on a variety of topics, from the fight against antisemitism to the wartime population evacuation.
The Committee discussed (8.11.2023) the report published by the State Comptroller in 2016 on the Diplomatic-Media Fight against the BDS Movement and Antisemitism Abroad. The discussion was held following the sharp rise in the number of antisemitic incidents worldwide since the outbreak of the war. The Office of the State Comptroller was represented in the discussion by Yuval Hayu, Director of the Government Ministries and Institutions Audit Division, and Tzipi Schlesinger, Director of Department P in the Division and her Deputy, Einat Vassal.
"Looking at the findings of this report can help us all in current insights, as there is no doubt that at the moment the State of Israel is facing a bigger challenge", said Hayu during the discussion – and presented the report's findings, which showed that "After every military campaign there was a deterioration in world opinion towards Israel, including in friendly countries such as the United States, Great Britain and Germany".
Hayu presented the main defects arising from the audit: "Since 2005 and up to the present day, in all areas of the fight against antisemitism and delegitimization, there is a migration of powers between the government ministries. A similar picture also exists in the world of public diplomacy. The current challenge faced by the State of Israel compels it to analyze the meaning, and perhaps also the price, of this migration phenomenon over the years. If we want to meet the target – providing the necessary back-up for the Jewish people – we need to see how we can achieve functional optimization in the government system".
The Comptroller recommended that the government pool the national resources allotted to the fight against boycotts on Israel and antisemitism. "It is impossible for every government body to build its own path", stressed Hayu. "This is not a new challenge. But now, the challenge is entirely different. The events which occurred during the past weeks – this is a new reality. In the face of this reality, the government system must aspire to optimum action".
The emergency food reserves in Israel were on the agenda of the Committee's discussion (6.11.2023) following two reports published by the State Comptroller in 2015, on the topic of Civil Industry Emergency Preparedness and on the topic of the Implications of Food Loss.
Tzachi Sa'ad, Director of the Economics and National Infrastructures Audit Division, presented the report's findings together with the Director of the H Department in the Division, David Bar, and with his Deputy, Nathan Shtibelman. The audit showed that the stock levels of some of the essential food products were lower than the levels prescribed in the scenarios, and that no criteria had been determined for prioritizing the food products in the government inventory list, in order to make changes in the stocks according to these criteria in the event of a change in the budget or the prices of the essential food products. It was further found that due to the discrepancies between the level of preparedness of the essential factories and the required level, there is concern that in an emergency some of the factories comprising the supply chain of the essential products would find it difficult to meet the service targets defined for them.
The preparedness of the home front against the threat of rockets and missiles was discussed in the Committee (31.10.2023) following the follow-up audit published by the Comptroller on the subject in 2020. The report's findings were surveyed by the Director of the Defense Forces Audit Division, Eitan Dahan, the Director of Department C in the Division, Eyal Sonnenfeld, and his Deputy, Efrat Orian.
"The State Comptroller, the divisions' directors and other parties in the Office of the State Comptroller have been conducting tours since October 7th", said Dahan in his opening words. "We have toured almost all the locations, from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona, including a conversation between the State Comptroller and the evacuees".
The report found that there are about 2.6 million Israeli residents without proper protection near their place of residence, and Dahan emphasized that the discrepancies are still noticeable on the ground: "The issue of the shelters in the private buildings is a weak point in all the councils we have visited". The audit then further found that the National Emergency Management Authority had not yet formulated a national concept for dealing with independent evacuees. Dahan noted that the tours conducted in the past weeks had given the impression that the matter had still not been completely regulated.
Afterwards, the Committee discussed the report published by the State Comptroller in 2007, after the 2006 Lebanon War, on the topic of Wartime Population Evacuation. The report's findings were presented at the discussion by the Director of the Local Government Audit Division, Mira Razin. "We examined six local authorities from the north which had been evacuated and authorities which had integrated. We found that all the plans had not provided a response to the various scenarios which occurred', said Razin. "Only in the third week of the war did the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Tourism come up with solutions for accommodation in hotels and tents. There was no information about who had been evacuated and where".
Photo: the Knesset Channel
Photo: the Knesset Channel
