Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

The most significant transfer of power in Israeli history is unfolding in front of our mostly oblivious eyes. Israel’s political institutions and elite are being overshadowed by mayors, philanthropists, business leaders, nonprofits and career civil servants. Notwithstanding the acute need to reform our electoral system and clean up its act, in many cases, this transformation allows us to become a much healthier society of closely networked communities.

Olmert’s downfall is just the most recent milestone of a process that has been going on for thirty years.

During the first twenty five years of its existence, Israel has been organized in a structure that was largely vertical and ran by one party, MAPAI, in a top-down way. The roots of this can be found in the Histadrut – the national labor organization – which was established in the twenties to address the needs of the collective needs of the working class and the individual needs of its members.

Israelis had been taken care of by their government and national institutions from the cradle to the grave, from early childhood to their elderly years. This was a period of unmatched prosperity and astonishing military, economic and social achievements.

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