Nir Barkat
@NirBarkat · Middle East
Nir Barkat is followed by Storyz World for government and public service coverage connected to Israel in the Middle East chapter.
Something momentous has happened in Israel! For the first time, I succeeded in breaking the absolute protection enjoyed by the bureaucracy in the “deep state” against dismissal. The High Court ruled yesterday, in an expanded panel of five judges and unanimously, that as minister I have the right to act with the aim of dismissing the Competition Commissioner! The precedent-setting ruling completely overturned the attorney general’s veto over the dismissal process, sharply criticized her conduct, and ordered the dismissal proceedings to move forward! The judges unequivocally determined that “the law contains no provision granting the commissioner substantive authority to choose whether or not to convene the appointments committee at a minister’s request,” and criticized the attempt by the legal advisers to arrogate to themselves powers that do not belong to them. Justice Solberg even held up a searing mirror to the attorney general’s conduct when he warned of the “democratic deficit” that had been created, and ruled: “An elected official is prevented from acting lawfully... delayed justice is justice denied.” For about three years I have been fighting to dismiss the head of the Competition Authority, who failed gravely in the fight against monopolies. The grim picture revealed in the legal proceedings I conducted against the attorney general and the deep state is that for decades, out of approximately 1,000 senior officials in the leading ranks of the civil service, not a single official was dismissed for underperformance or failure to implement an elected official’s policy! We lived in an absurd reality in which deep-state officials enjoyed complete immunity, were accountable not to elected officials but only to those who legally protected them from dismissal. No more. This ruling is a milestone for generations and constitutes a dramatic change in the rules of the game in the State of Israel: from today on, deep-state officials understand that they must be accountable to elected officials. The era of automatic protection is over. I will continue to fight fearlessly to return control and power to elected officials, as the majority of the people demand!
Translated from HebrewWe continue opening doors around the world for the Israeli economy! I held a final briefing with my ministry's delegation, which left for the United States to continue negotiations on a free trade agreement. I am proud of the employees of the Foreign Trade Administration who work around the clock to advance our economy. During this term, we have already signed trade agreements with Vietnam and Costa Rica, a framework free trade agreement with India, and an agricultural trade agreement with the United States, and we broke the all-time export record
Translated from HebrewThe fighters of Force 100 and the entire country continue to pay the heavy price to this day for the enormous damage the female Military Advocate General caused during wartime. It is unacceptable that someone whose criminal conduct harmed IDF fighters and the State of Israel should receive benefits and grants from the state coffers.
Translated from HebrewFrom the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the activists, supporters, and the 23,134 Likud members who expressed their confidence in me in the elections for the Likud list for the Knesset
Translated from Hebrew