Political Appointments in Israel

The notion that every political appointment is flawed and corrupt has been accepted without challenge in the Israeli public discourse. It is enough to attach the perceived defamatory label “political appointee” to one candidate or another to create a storm and to generate opposition to his or her appointment.

According to the author, this is definitive evidence of the victory of the nonpartisan (mamlakhti) approach over the partisan approach, which for some reason has not had spokespeople or defenders. To balance the picture, and in order to enrich the public discourse, this work examines the topic of political appointees from the partisan view, too, voicing its legitimate demands. The question of political appointments raises the need for a thorough clarification of an issue that is inherent to any democratic regime: the boundary of legitimate political involvement in affairs of state.

Where should the dividing line between politics and government be drawn? The experience of most democratic states bolsters the need for a thorough examination of the status and nature of the civil service in Israel, rather than taking it as axiomatic that the British model is superior to its rivals.