The Legal Department

A main arm of MQG's is its Legal Department, established from the Movements' inception eighteen years ago. The Legal Department acts to improve the culture of governance in Israel, and strengthen democratic values, the rule of law, sound administration, and integrity in government. MQG litigates cases in a variety of courts, particularly the Supreme Court, and regularly appears before parliamentary committees and in the media.

Unfortunately, the Government of Israel is a far cry from being an example of the governmental values we expect and wish it to demonstrate. Though it can truthfully boast Israel's status as an advanced democratic regime, corruption and malpractice can regrettably be found lurking under the surface of its institutions. These occurrences of corruption must be tackled effectively by independent watchdog organizations, among which MQG is a leader in Israel.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel aims to act as a shield, protecting citizens in Israel against such malfeasance, and strives to enable them to protect themselves. The Legal Department endeavors to promote an enhanced attitude of good governance, to act as a moral voice for it, and to regulate and entrench it through the governmental system.

The legal tract yields a number of positive benefits. As well as being a powerful tool in its own right, legal action raises public awareness and amplifies the exposure of deficiencies in public governance, making it possible to combine pressure from above, in government and in the courts, with the voice of the people from below. MQG fervently believes that in order to succeed, it must encourage the public to more actively monitor government, enhance transparency and accountability, and stop corruption and mismanagement as they arise.

Scores of MQG petitions have already made some headway in achieving this goal, illustrating a marked difference in the culture of governance and administration. Indeed, MQG's first petition in 1990 attacked the custom of questionable coalition agreements made behind closed doors. The petition led the Supreme Court to rule that such agreements must be advertised, in a judgment that instituted important rules regarding the fiduciary duty and the requirement of disclosure as a public right. Today, as a result, coalition agreements must be revealed to the public before a Government is formed. This achievement was followed by a number of marked successes through the years, including formation of important criteria for allocating the Interior Ministry's reserve fund as a result of MQG legal pressure, and numerous court rulings requiring closer monitoring of public sector appointments.

MQG is also extremely active at the local government level, working to safeguard equality and ensure provision of adequate public services. Local government reflects the image of the State in the eyes of its citizens, and it is therefore of paramount importance to ensure that the public receives the service it deserve, provided with both transparency and accountability. This action has been directed toward the Arab sector, where rampant mismanagement has traditionally received little attention, with the launch of "Empowering Arab Attorneys to Watchdog Corruption" project.

Currently, six advocates are involved, to various extents, in the legal department itself, who, together, have accrued years of experience and success in a number of extremely high profile cases.

Although our operation in this field is replete with successes, as a non-partisan organization, MQG cannot and must not rely on any government funding and is therefore wholly dependent upon donations and membership fees to maintain and improve its operations. A contribution to the project will allow the Movement for Quality Government in Israel to maintain and intensify its activities and help guarantee better governance in the State of Israel, while demanding higher ethical standards and resolving to tackle corruption wherever it appears.

Budget Watch Department

MQG established the Budget Watch Department in order to develop expertise in the mechanisms by which public resources are allocated (and often misallocated), to protect the public from malfeasance involving public funds, and to even prompt the Israeli Government's own commitment to do so.

The main priority of the Budget Watch Department is to be constantly on guard as a civic watchdog of the public purse in Israel, demanding ethical standards in governance and protection of its citizens from corruption and financial waste. The department's primary goal is to effect real change regarding proper finance in government, by acting as an important resource and instrument for investigation of, and legal action regarding, critical issues on the subject. Whatever the amount of public money lost to corruption, even a small percentage is too much.

The main objectives of the Budget Watch Department are:
• Establishment of standards of transparency and accountability of governmental financial conduct in Israel.
• Safeguarding the public interest in governmental financial activity and decisions, specifically by the monitoring of the privatization process.
• Prevention of the misuse and squandering of public funds by governmental agencies.

MQG's budget watching and subsequent litigation have saved, and continue to save, tens of millions of shekels in public funds, which might be made more readily available for social services, health, and education, thus promoting growth in the societal sectors that are most in need. The Budget Watch Department ultimately acts in the long-term interest of all strata of society, by promoting justice and legitimacy of institutions, from which the disadvantaged benefit the most.

“…The Movement for Quality Government in Israel … led to a considerable savings of tens of millions of NIS of public funds; to ensuring the truthfulness of reports and proper governmental supervision by public employees prior to allocation of public funds to supported organizations; and thus, to the safeguarding of the Rule of Law. For that – MQG is to be commended…”
Yochi Genesin, Director of Administrative Affairs in the State Attorney's Office, 2007.

Detection is a fundamental prerequisite for action, as is public awareness, which contributes to a culture of zero tolerance for corruption. For this reason MQG established a Research Department, uniquely positioned to monitor economic processes in Israeli government. Cases of financial mismanagement and corruption are brought to our attention through a number of initiatives, on both the macro and micro levels. The Research Department also performs an ongoing review of governmental finance topics of general interest, based on complaints received through MQG's hotline, and proposes recommendations for appropriate follow up, including legal proceedings.

MQG also litigates cases in the courts, (primarily in the Supreme Court), and appears before parliamentary committees and in the media, to effectively confront fiscal mismanagement. MQG aims to keep building upon on its legal and monitoring successes, such as revealing plans to pay 130 million NIS of public funds to a tender-winning corporation due to a technical mistake (in 2005), and prompting the Supreme Court to instruct the State to explain its refusal to publish the names of public employees who have received salary benefits suspected as illegal expenditures in its annual mandatory report (in 2006). In addition to specific cases, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel works toward formulation of a robust framework of regulations to induce proper governmental economic management.

In 2008 the Budget Watch Department is litigating approximately 20 petitions (some still pending); dealing with seven major issues, and has already led to a direct saving of millions of shekels in the current fiscal cycle alone.

Although our activity in this field is replete with success, as a non-partisan organization, MQG cannot and must not rely on any government funding and is therefore wholly dependent upon donations and membership dues to maintain and improve its activity. Any contribution will allow the Movement for Quality Government in Israel to maintain and intensify its activities and help guarantee better governance in the State of Israel, with particular regard to the economic field.

"Empowering Arab attorneys to watchdog corruption and litigate to enhance proper and ethical governance in the municipalities of the Arab sector"
The poor quality of local government in Israel's Arab Sector has traditionally received little attention from the wider public. Yet for years the State Ombudsman and the Ministry of Interior affairs have issued reports detailing rampant mismanagement in Arab municipalities. In addition, the "Orr Committee" found a direct connection between government's lack of action, and the growing tendency for the Arab citizens' mistrust in the Israeli democracy and institutions. Local government reflects the image of the state in the eyes of citizens. In order to enhance Israeli Arabs' sentiment of solidarity and partnership, they must receive proper service from transparent and accountable local authorities. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) project is specifically designed for two main and interrelated goals:
A. Training Arab jurists, and providing them with tools, for effective legal and civil action against corruption, incompetence and malfeasance in local government.
B. Enhancing public awareness and public discussion among Arab citizens regarding to the need for civil society action to promote sound public administration, accountability and transparency in local authorities, via media coverage of the legal cases handled by the project, and the project's public events.
By implementing the project, The Movement for Quality Government intends to create a "critical mass" of lawyers and citizens, who will be able to initiate substantial improvements in the conduct of local government in non-Jewish localities. The Project is comprised of two parts: 1) Lectures and Workshop on public administrative law and civil action, with a focus on practical legal skills; 2) a Legal Clinic and "Hotline", operated both by graduates of the lectures and workshops, and by MQG's professional staff, and Public Events. The second part of the project is based on the widespread infrastructure of MQG clinics already active in various central locations in Israel. The academic director of the training program is Adv. Barak Calev, Director of MQG's Legal Department, who is also the legal adviser of the MQG and holds over ten years of experience in administrative law.
Further developments: The project is now ready to be implemented on a much larger scale. With the right resources, the project can grow and intensify its influence and effectiveness and be brought to its full potential, taking advantage of the momentum that has been built to date. Your grant will help us to recruit an Arab lawyer (a graduate of the first part of the program) to direct a legal unit within the legal department dedicated exclusively to cases of poor municipal governance in the Arab sector. The recruited Arab lawyer will lead, initiate & represent cases, and will also guide the Arab lawyers who have graduated the program to lead legal cases themselves. This activity will make it possible to achieve real results, including legal precedents - results which will leave their mark on the quality of government in the Arab sector and bring about real change. In addition to litigation, and in order to enhance Arab sector public awareness and active civic dialogue with that sector, enrichment lectures and public events will be held – about 7 public events are currently planned intended for elected Arab representatives, lawyers and open public. The purpose of these events is to share the experience and knowledge accumulated by MQG during the 18 years of intensive civic and legal activity since its establishment, while raising public awareness, in accordance with the objective of fighting corruption and strengthening democratic values, by enlarging MQG's circles of partners and networking, as well as by increasing cooperation with the Arab sector. Thus, Taking the fledgling civic activism of the Arab sector in Israel and directing its energies toward real legal cases.

Legal Hotline Clinics Project

MQG is the place to go for people with information on public malfeasance. MQG operates a hotline on Government Corruption, which receives approximately 1300 complaints annually from all sectors of Israeli society, including Israeli Arabs and Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The hotline is available to anyone who believes he or she is a victim of improper governmental behavior. The hotline provides an unparalleled opportunity for MQG's volunteers to become involved and contribute. MQG investigates hotline complaints and determines the appropriate course of action for each one, be it contacting the police, informing the State Comptroller, or petitioning the Supreme Court. The Legal Clinic is a place where law students can deal with real alleged incidents of government malfeasance and learn the nuts and bolts of public administrative and constitutional law. The students are under the supervision of a professional staff of attorneys and expert legal volunteers. In addition to responding to complaints, students are given a test case and attend enrichment lectures. The program is designed as a year long elective course for credit. Upon completion of the program, each student receives a grade and a certificate recognizing his/her service to the community.

In a number of cases, when the complaint represents an important public interest, the matter is handed over to MQG’s Legal Department which then determines how and when to take further legal action (e.g. writing the Attorney General, or petitioning in the District Courts or in the Supreme Court sitting as High Court of Justice). MQG has had many legal achievements during the last decade, thanks to the work of the Legal Hotline Clinics.

Among the complaints, MQG comes across cases of whistleblowers which receive special attention. Whistleblowers are concerned citizens who become victims of a system that would prefer to cover up corruption and protect the offender. MQG provides advice, and has even extended legal aid to the whistleblower when appropriate.

MQG currently operates four legal clinics:
 The Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which has been operating since 1994
 The Faculty of Law of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, which has been operating since 2001
 The Shaarey Mishpat College in Hod-Hasharon, which has been operating since 2003
 The Faculty of Law of "Hamichlala Leminhal" in Rishon Letzion, which has been operating since 2005
These Legal Clinics provide multiple positive results. First, they are a fantastic tool for education in the fields of Administrative and Constitutional Law. Second, clinic participants become ambassadors for MQG's mission. Third, complaints of government malfeasance are dealt with in a timely and thorough manner. Fourth, a real problem is often resolved.

An indication of the essential need for this project is the astonishing growth in the number of complaints: from a few dozen in 1994, to over 1300 in 2007. This impressive increase has made it necessary to increase the human resources allocated to the project. Instead of one attorney and one coordinator guiding 13 students, MQG now employs three dedicated attorneys in the Legal Hotline Clinics Department, two hotline coordinators, and three municipal coordinators, who have guided over 400 students over the years.
This substantial growth is compelling us to enlarge the financial resources for the project, simply to keep it running in its present form: The total cost of the department, including the hotline, totals $160,000 (US) per year. Any contribution to our efforts will truly improve the lives of Israelis of all walks of life, and encourage an active civil society which will change governmental norms in Israel.

MQG has been leading an ongoing struggle for 18 years, for better government in Israel. MQG has stood by its principle of remaining independent and impartial; the Movement relies solely on contributions and donations. Contributions will help strengthen a political culture based on democratic values, the rule of law, sound administration, integrity, and quality government.


The Israeli Investment Centre (IIC) Monitoring Project

The Movement would specifically like to earmark any contribution provided to tackle the seeming lack of due care and transparency in the Israeli Investment Centre (IIC) in the Ministry for Industry, Trade and Labor, and advance accountability, which is particularly essential where the distribution of public funds to private companies is involved. This project is a component of the Budget Watch- Fiscal Litigation Department, to develop expertise in the mechanisms by which public resources are allocated (and often misallocated), to protect the public purse from malfeasance, and even to prompt the Israeli Government's own commitment to do so.

The Ministry for Industry, Trade and Labor is responsible for conferring grants of public funds to private enterprises, in order to encourage capital investment. Such grants are conferred subject to certain terms and conditions provided by law, to guarantee the public interest. Those who subsequently fail to comply with the criteria, and are thus benefiting privately from public money without providing the public with its return on the investment, must return such grants.

Unfortunately, grantees who have failed to comply with the criteria include hundreds of companies who have received benefits of over one million NIS each. It is the Investment Center's responsibility by law to recoup such funds, which, as mentioned, are relayed to the private sector subject to legal conditions, in order to achieve specific public objectives

However, as we discovered, The IIC has seemingly neglected this responsibility. It does not demand evaluations by grantee companies; it does not terminate grants even when it is clear that the terms have been violated; even where grants have been terminated, it does not take action to recoup grant money.

This misfeasance completely undermines the rule of law and public trust. In practical terms, investment in essentially needed community and social infrastructure has been stunted as the quality of investment has been reduced, retarding economic development in the State of Israel. Private companies cannot be permitted to benefit from undeserved public funds. Millions of shekels of public money are being mishandled. In 2006, for example, an estimated 60 million NIS in public funds were saved by an MQG petition countering an IIC decision to bestow a grant to Coca Cola Israel which was unjustified according to the legal criteria.
MQG has already formally asked the IIC, citing the Freedom of Information Act, to release its records of grants awarded to companies who have not complied with grant conditions. MQG wishes to take legal action in order to put an end to this faulty conduct and ensure that the IIC fulfills its mandate to use and protect public funds effectively. This will be achieved either by compelling the IIC, through legal action, to see to it that unlawfully distributed funds are returned and that the regulations in place for the are being upheld, or by attaining court orders requiring individual offending companies to return grants to the public purse.
Litigation is both a tested and effective strategy, which has garnered substantial results in the past. It is, however, also painstaking and arduous. Any option of legal action inherently involves a procedure which is both costly and protracted. For example, it took over a year, and constant MQG letters invoking the Freedom of Information Act, to attain data from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor on this issue. However, by the end of 2009, MQG expects to have completed all the groundwork required, placed the issue on top of the legal docket, and petitioned the relevant courts, allowing this issue to be tackled as effectively and efficiently as possible.

With assistance we will be able to continue our important work. Millions of shekels of mishandled public funds could possibly be redirected to where they really count, in infrastructure, health, education and providing for the disadvantaged in society, instead of lining the pockets of private industry, with no public gain.

Holocaust Survivor Restitution Project

Though Holocaust survivors are always in mind as eyewitnesses to a history we must never forget, we tend to easily forget their needs. Of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors that live in Israel, approximately one third live below the poverty line. As the last generation enters its twilight years, we must ensure that they receive the care that they deserve, and receive restitution for the assets that were stolen from them over sixty years ago. As a consequence of years of neglect and delay, many aged survivors will not live to see their restitution entitlements. This fundamental human right cannot continue to be denied.

The State of Israel has not "upheld its moral obligation" to thousands of survivors who chose to make Israel their home . Many victims continue to fall between the currently existing bureaucratic cracks, without streamlined regulations to assure that each of these elderly citizens can know his/her rights and apply for and receive compensation through reasonable and understandable procedures. Mechanisms currently in place to compensate Holocaust victims have also been criticized for their lack of transparency and accountability, concealing further irregularities. For example, mounting public criticism of The Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (hereinafter: "the Claims Conference") has arisen, following a series of journalistic exposés portraying the Claims Conference as having worked neither independently nor efficiently.

Millions of dollars of Holocaust restitution funds have also been directed by the relevant authorities to assorted projects in Israel and around the world which are completely unrelated to the victims themselves. Funding projects unrelated to victims, though each project may be admirable in and of itself, should not be a priority. At a time when many Holocaust victims are still living in inadequate conditions sixty years after their terrible ordeal, routing funds elsewhere in not only unjust, but deplorable.

Distributing restitution to Jewish victims must not in any way be associated with deception or mismanagement. As a sensitive and important matter, it must be performed in a totally open fashion, and must fulfill its mandate to safeguard the rights of survivors and their heirs. That is not only the Israeli Government's moral obligation; it is in fact entrenched in law, in light of the provisions whereby survivors may turn directly to the Israeli Government regarding their rights. This is significant, as it provides MQG with a number of compelling tools for confronting the issue. By combining pressure from above, in government and the judiciary, with the voice of the people from below, we believe we can achieve a noteworthy improvement for the Holocaust survivors.

One of the various means for achieving our goals is action to ensure that funds are actively appropriated and supervised by the Israeli government, in order to ensure that compensation is swiftly bestowed to victims and their families without the use of middlemen and the swathe of current bureaucracy, so that it is provided in a more transparent and accountable fashion. The government should also act to actively locate heirs of unclaimed properties.

In this vein, MQG continues to petition a number of government agencies in both Germany and Israel, insisting on higher standards of public management. MQG has called for commissions of inquiry to be set up, and for victim funds currently routed away from survivors themselves to be frozen. MQG also intends to amplify pressure through public awareness and action, as well as through the courts. MQG's last achievement, in a petition in August of 2008, assisted in pressuring the Israeli Government to abandon its angering decision to delay allocation of funds for Holocaust survivors until the 2009 budget, and instead provide funding in the current budget, to be paid to survivors by September 2008. "Justice delayed is justice denied".

This is clearly an extensive issue, and one which requires thorough, time consuming efforts. Any option of legal action involves a costly and protracted procedure. In this particular field that is especially so, as it involves a series of different jurisdictions, including the United States where the Claims Conference was founded, as well as Germany. The project is also costly in terms of time and human resources. This issue is one that clearly must be tackled from a variety of directions, further complicating the task at hand and stretching available resources. Such directions of action, however, present real chances for important results.

With assistance we will be able to tackle this important ethical and moral governmental issue, and to bring about the realization of the clear rights of victims, ensuring that vast amounts of money can be utilized to help the elderly victims, and provide the essential social services to those who are most deserving.

Whistleblower Protection Unit

Government employees serving in internal government regulatory systems, who act to expose cases of malfeasance as they occur, are an important resource in the fight against corruption. Indeed, under normal circumstances, a government agency is entitled to demand total loyalty and confidentiality from its employees. However, when a serious concern of misfeasance is involved, the public interest demands that it be revealed, and that the courageous employee who revealed it be protected, not punished. Many whistleblowers are guilty only of revealing the truth, for the public interest.

When a whistleblower attempts to speak out against corrupt practices from within the system, his attempt often fails, and he is punished for the audacity of his outburst. Whistleblowers in the public sector reveal malfeasance in their fields at substantial risk to their careers. They are subject to retaliation by their managers, and may lose their jobs and opportunities for advancement, or even forfeit their careers. Yet there is insufficient legal protection for government employees who blow the whistle. When whistleblowers act, they do so in order to hold government accountable to the people, and should therefore be sufficiently protected, not punished, for their courage.

The unit's main objectives are as follows:

• Providing legal assistance and counsel – and in special cases legal representation – to whistleblowing employees, by legal staff with practical experience, free of charge.
• Legal action to bring to justice managers in the public sector who have discriminated against whistleblowers, in order to create an atmosphere of deterrence and accountability.
• Facilitating whistleblowing as a key element in corporate governance and risk management, and ensuring that a robust framework is in place for protecting whistleblowers and entrenching their positions, including raising public awareness of MQG's ability to do so.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel has already achieved marked success in this field, in a number of high profile cases throughout the years. In the last decade, approximately seventy cases of this nature have been handled by the Movement, including the defense of Police Chief Superintendent Efraim Erlich (Kremshnit), who acted to unveil the Farinian Brothers Scandal (2008), and Asaf Gerti, who uncovered gross malfeasance in the Ministry of the Interior in 2006.

Our action in these cases was instrumental in creating an important legal precedent in the National Labor Court, which determined that an employee can legally ensure his return to his post after suffering alienation and dismissal, and that a person can sue for victimization.

MQG has also drafted three draft law bills, two of which were passed in 2007 and 2008, designed to enhance the whistleblower protection apparatus and allow a whistleblower to receive compensation of up to 500,000 NIS. Even though this legislation for the improvement of whistleblowers' status passed in the Knesset, there hasn't yet been a significant change regarding the legal aid they receive. MQG intends to fight with all its power to ensure that the law is fully upheld, and will attempt to bring about an amendment of law, if it is deemed untenable and ineffective.

However, in order to more effectively achieve our objectives and sufficiently protect whistleblowers, who have increased in number significantly, the human resources allocated to the project must be significantly increased. Without underestimating the importance of the work done by MQG to date, it is still on a very limited scale in comparison to the problem. Cases of this nature are also known for requiring particularly painstaking and arduous legal work, exhausting human resources. Thus, MQG would like to expand its whistleblower protection mechanism by assigning a full time attorney who will focus entirely on this issue. An attorney and unit directed completely to this matter would increase our capacity to protect whistleblowers, and in turn, to prevent corruption and the challenge it poses to human development, legitimacy and integrity.

A contribution to the project will allow the Movement for Quality Government in Israel to establish the Whistleblower Protection Unit, to reinforce its activity in this important field, to help guarantee higher ethical standards in governance, and to tackle corruption wherever it appears.