10 essential national tasks for the new year
10 essential national tasks for the new year
2024 will be at least as critical as 1974. Therefore, in order not to sink into a lost decade like after the Yom Kippur War, we need to start a national reform now, says Calcalist Publisher Yoel Esteron
Since the seventh of October, we have been observing shivah (the week-long mourning period in Judaism) for 82 days. Our hearts break again and again with every new name of fallen soldiers, with the bereaved families, and with those abducted in the Hamas tunnels. But we cannot afford to wallow in grief, anxiety, or despair, nor wait for "six after the war." 2024 will be at least as critical a year as 1974. Therefore, I would like to propose ten urgent national tasks right now. The time for national reform, to build the next decade so as not to sink into a lost decade like after the Yom Kippur War, is now. And each and every one of us has an important role in the national reform.
1. The first overall task is a national decision on a New Deal, in the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's plan in 1933 after the Great Depression. The security, economic and social reconstruction is, of course, needed not only for the affected cities, towns, and kibbutzim in the south and north. The reforms must be large and significant throughout the entire economy.
2. In the coming year, we must maintain and strengthen the vital alliance with the United States that has proven itself. We saw the enormous importance of the political and security support, but we also understood the dimensions of our dependence, especially the dependence on American weapons and armaments. We must use the coming year to increase and develop vital self-production, as long as Joe Biden is president. 2025 may see a return to the White House of a volatile narcissist we cannot trust. In any case, with any American administration, the dependence must be reduced as much as possible in the coming years.
3. Food security. "The Wheat Grows Again" is a wonderful and moving song, but the truth is that for many years, the fields and vineyards, barns and chicken coops have been neglected, and many have been abandoned. We must restore and regrow Israeli agriculture and ensure food security and raw materials from local sources.
4. Israeli high-tech flourished in recent decades in spite of the governments and not because of them. The attempts to harm democracy, and of course, the terrible war, dealt a severe blow to the engine of the economy. Now a general mobilization is needed to save Israeli high-tech, both of the government and of the business community, including the large institutional bodies. Without high-tech, there is no chance of recovery.
5. Education and higher education. We can no longer afford the criminal neglect of poor education among the ultra-Orthodox. Those who want to prevent a decline into a third-world economy must fight for advanced 21st-century education, including, of course, core studies in all sectors. Our universities have also fallen in international benchmarks after years of weakening and disdain. Higher education needs to return to the top of the list of priorities.
6. In the war, we saw how important a healthy health system is. With all due respect, Sheba and Ichilov hospitals are not enough. The residents of the north and south need and deserve medical services, for both body and soul, at the same high level as provided in the center of the country. And not only in times of emergency, epidemic, and war. Meanwhile, every medicine student studying abroad who came to serve in the IDF reserves in this war must be integrated into local medical schools.
7. A fundamental overhaul is needed in the public sector, which has been corrupted by rotten appointments. Only excellent people should be placed in significant positions in government offices and public systems. And, of course, the gatekeepers must be maintained and strengthened against all bullies, from the thugs in the government to the thugs on the streets and social media.
8. A sophisticated task force should be established to restore the Israel brand around the world. Instead of "advocacy," there is a need to plan comprehensive activity that will last for years. We must tell the Israeli story to young liberals and conservatives alike in the United States and Europe, to the hostile media, to online influencers, to culture and entertainment stars, to politicians and decision-makers. We must not give up on both the hypocrites and those who do not know how to find the river or the sea on the map.
9. The rule of Hamas and its army should, of course, be eliminated and removed with all force. But already in 2024, a Marshall Plan should be initiated for the Gaza Strip, demilitarized, of course, and later also for the West Bank. An ambitious plan along the lines of the plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II initiated by the United States with an investment of $13 billion at the time, about $180 billion in today's terms. The Marshall Plan for the Palestinians should be led by the United States, European countries, and rich countries in our region, but it is definitely a distinct Israeli interest. Israel should be a partner in steering and promoting the program. With all our justified outrage, the Palestinians also need a horizon.
10. We need reconciliation among ourselves. With all the disputes, anger, and hatred, we have no choice. How do you do that? As tedious as it sounds and invites skeptical responses, I propose a reconciliation committee of moral people from all sides, without politicians. The reconciliation committee will draft a renewed Israeli treaty, in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. One of the committee's products could serve as a draft for a constitution. It's time.
And finally, it goes without saying that to set these immodest goals and promote them with determination, we need new leadership. Those who brought us to crisis and depression, to distress and despair, must go in 2024, and as soon as possible. The new leadership also needs fresh forces. Women and men who have proven themselves in business, in high-tech, in academia, in education, must enter politics and participate in Israel's restart.
Yoel Esteron was speaking at the opening of Calcalist's Forecasts Conference in cooperation with Bank Hapoalim and Phoenix Insurance
