Interior Minister: There is no deep state in Israel

Most politicians will do everything possible to ensure that taxes imposed on the public are not associated with their name, but Israel’s Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel is actually proud of the move he made to increase (arnona) local authority taxes. “We raised local authority taxes by 5.29% this year. It was clear to me that this would be an unpopular, but necessary, decision,” Arbel “Globes” editor Naama Sikuler, as part of the Israel Services Conference held in collaboration with Mizrahi Tefahot Bank. “I also pay local authority taxes, and it affects all of us, but we have a commitment to the economic stability of local government. We must give this to the authorities, so that they are less dependent on the central government.”

Asked why it seems that local government is doing a more efficient job than central government, Arbel replied: “A mayor has greater authority than a minister within his city. The central government’s role is not to interfere with local government in serving residents and to ensure that processes are conducted properly.”

In last year’s budget, the government passed on the relay baton to authorities that refrain from building apartments, which bring in less money in taxes than businesses, through the local authority tax fund reform. The exceptional approval in 2025 to increase local authority taxes is supposed to complete the “carrot” for mayors, to encourage the construction of more housing units. Arbel addressed the claim that there is still not enough incentive for authorities to build housing: “We have surpassed the planning targets. Some of the previous planning was not appropriate for the economic feasibility of implementation.”

The Ministry of Interior received a high score in the “Globes” services survey, above the other government ministries. “The Population and Immigration Authority has made tremendous strides,” says Arbel. The public well remembers the passport crisis, in which Israelis had to wait months for renewal. Arbel took on the issue as a project and at the beginning of his term held “marathons” to close the gaps. However, since then the backlog has partially returned.

“My personal confession,” says Arbel, “Every morning when I leave Petah Tikva for Jerusalem, I open our appointment booking website for passport services. I check the availability of appointments. I can say that at 8:30 you can find many free appointments, even if there is room for improvement. Today you don’t have to make an arduous journey to get a passport.”

“We have moved forward the legislative process for ordering ID cards online”

Arbel spoke at length about implementing digital services for the public in the content worlds of the Ministry of the Interior, and the tensions this may create with state employees. “We have moved forward the legislative process for ordering ID cards online for those who have a biometric ID card. Over 100,000 people ordered the card online, and did not have to come to the offices but received it at home. This week, the Knesset extended this service in its first reading.”

“Shouldn’t such an online service already be provided in 2025?” Sikuler asked. He replied, “There are many players who are afraid of this. There is always the concern in government offices about privacy issues. But it must also be said that technologies are not going to replace employees. There will be enough work for the Population Authority employees, even if not all the public comes to the office. There is enough work for everyone.” As for civil service employees, Arbel stresses, “Today, a civil service employee earns less than a Wolt courier. I am in favor of organized labor, because in the end, with all the credit given to this or that minister, the ones who do the work are the dedicated workers in the field.”

“Bureaucracy is a mechanism that develops over years”

Unlike other ministers in the coalition, Arbel defends the civil service. “There is no deep state in the country,” he said, earning applause from the audience. “Bureaucracy is a mechanism that develops over years out of an organizational culture. No employee wakes up in the morning and decides to screw up work. There are dedicated civil servants who go to work to serve the public. Even if there is a culture that works slowly, trust needs to be created so that employees can work quickly, because their work too becomes cumbersome due to too much bureaucracy.”

Sikuler asked Arbel whether it could be said that all Israelis receive the same level of service, including Arabs. Arbel did not hide the truth. “Unfortunately, as of today, the answer is no. But I strive for reducing, with the biggest gaps between the center and periphery, which also adds to the division into sectors. I saw the campaign to build a soccer field in Beit Jan. I will not pretend that it is like that, and there are also state budgets for this purpose. But there are people who fell in love with the campaign.”

In conclusion, Arbel referred to the state budget that was finally approved this week in the Knesset. “The very passing of the budget during a time of war is important, because if you want the IDF to win, you need money.”

As a representative of Shas, he also spoke about the disputes surrounding the transfer of coalition funds to Haredi educational institutions and the Haredi demand to integrate the funds into the regular budget. “Even if there is a dispute over the amount of core education, this does not justify that salaries for Haredi teachers or the construction of classrooms will be paid through coalition funds. There needs to be monitoring and supervision of the entire budget, but the reality in which funds for education are counted as a coalition matter should not happen.”

Full disclosure: The conference was held in collaboration with Mizrahi Tefahot bank and sponsored by Wolt, Bezeq, and Cal Israel Credit Cards.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 27, 2025.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.