A moment of truth
A cloud of dust has obscured the sun over the social justice protests. After a month of calm, our most burning issues have come to a head, with important determinations to be made within a short period of 48 hours.
On Sunday, Tnuva CEO Zehavit Cohen resigned her position, and the large dairy producers slashed their prices. By doing so they admitted, in effect, that they have been exploiting the public all along. Today (Monday), the government will convene to discuss the report issued by the committee headed by Professor Manuel Trajtenberg. Even the moderate students among the social protesters have called on ministers not to ratify the current language of the report. On Tuesday morning we can expect the heavy-hearted resignation of more than 730 medical residents from public hospitals. All three events offer the opportunity to say a few words about what constitute much larger discussions.
The dairy conglomerates' iniquity has been exposed. Cohen did the right thing by stepping down until the investigation against her is complete. She is unlikely to ever resume leadership at Tnuva. The person who should have resigned along with her is the Antitrust Authority director-general, who until the Facebook cottage cheese protest, the tent encampments and student protests outside supermarket chains had fallen asleep at the wheel. Where was he? How did he spend his days? Where was he all these years? Tnuva and Strauss owe him an explanation, but he owes an explanation to the public. He also needs to tell us what he plans to do so the situation doesn't repeat itself.
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There are gaping holes in the Trajtenberg report, despite the fact that its world view is fundamentally correct and accurate. What use is the national housing committee law if the government is slow to release cheap lands while setting an upper price limit for public housing? And why has the government balked at giving IDF veterans first dibs on housing if not out of fear of the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs, who do not contribute to the general welfare?
Why doesn't the war against the tycoons have sharper teeth and why is there no hurry to increase investment in education? What about the approximately 150 billion shekels in off-the-books cash flowing through the Israeli economy? If we had proper tax collection there would be no need to undermine our national security so severely.
Despite all these musings, the social protest activists have the responsibility to make a choice: Either ask the Trajtenberg committee to start over, or fight for actual implementation of the proposals as they stand. An ominous sign emerged on Sunday when Yisrael Beitenu and Shas wrangled a commitment out of the government to discuss the report but not vote on it. Under such circumstances, it would be better to fight for implementation of the proposals before they dissolve under pressure from tycoons, retail chains and building subcontractors. Ministers and Knesset members could prove unable to resist the blandishments of big money, turning the Trajtenberg report into another worthless piece of paper.
The goals of the ultra-Orthodox are also clear. They do not want army veterans to get preference in housing over Kollel scholars. For these reasons, I suggest to the protesters that they postpone the fight to improve the Trajtenberg report in favor of fighting to get it implemented.
Good soldiers have the right to complain but not to desert their posts. The hour of reckoning with their commanders will come at the end of their shift. Medical residents have wise and genuine grievances against the establishment, but right now there is an old woman groaning in the hallway and a car accident victim bleeding in the emergency room. These patients must not be neglected. Especially since the establishment already believes it was in the wrong and is willing to make amends for some of its obtuseness. The mediator, Professor Eliezer Rachmilevich, is merely asking for an extension until the end of the holidays. Grant him a line of credit.
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