The Movement for Quality Government in Israel

The mission of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel is to promote good government for the people of Israel. The organization is dedicated to the proposition that democracy must be actively nurtured, never more so than in a young country like Israel. Over the years, the MQG has established itself as the nation's preeminent citizen watchdog organization and peerless advocate for public accountability and the rule of law.

The MQG is independent, apolitical, and not-for-profit
In order to protect its independence, the MQG runs on private donations and the membership dues of thousands of members; it receives no government funding.
The MQG was established as a protest organization in March 1990, following the coalition crisis, with a few hunger strikers, demonstrators, and citizens looking for change and justice in political leadership. Today, it boasts approximately 13,000 members and supporters.
No public official is immune to the scrutiny of the MQG, regardless of party affiliation.
The MQG serves all citizens in every public sector in Israel.
The MQG has become one of Israel's most prominent public petitioners to the High Court of Justice and a significant moral voice for thousands of citizens.
The MQG founded the Academy for Quality Government, which has become instrumental in strengthening public awareness in issues of democracy and governmental ethics, both in schools and in continuing education programs for adults and public officials.

MQG's Goals
MQG works primarily to:

Raise the ethical standards of public officials and instill a culture of integrity in politics
Strengthen public awareness through increased civic involvement and greater governmental transparency
Promote accountability and compliance of public officials with the rule of law
Expose and censure corruption and malfeasance by public officials

MQG's Methods
With the help of our staff and hundreds of volunteers, the MQG succeeds in achieving its goals by:

Petitioning Israel's Supreme Court
Exposing and publicizing instances of public officials activities which mismatch ethical standards of administration in-order.
Providing free legal aid to whistleblowers
Putting out a variety of publications, including journals, a monthly internet newspaper, and more
Sponsoring a highly publicized Quality Government Day every May 15th on which it presents "Knights of Good Government" awards to individuals who have made a positive contribution to ethics in public life
Sponsoring an annual symposium on good government
Orchestrating public demonstrations and petitions

The Public Legal Hotline
MQG's hotline combines its role as a legal and political watchdog with its educational vision. The hotline is available to anyone who believes he or she is a victim of improper governmental behavior. The hotline is an elective course for law students; it is staffed by about 80 law students from Hebrew University in Jerusalem," The Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya", "Shaarei Mishpat" College in Hod Hasharon, and "Hamichlala Leminhal" College in Rishon Letzion. All are supervised by MQG staff and volunteer attorneys. The hotline provides an unparalleled opportunity for law students to become involved in and learn about Public Administrative Law. MQG investigates complaints fielded by the hotline 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 volume of complaints processed by MQG's hotline increases every year; the current annual rate is 1,000 complaints

Constant Achievement
MQG promotes its agenda for good government in many ways, but it is perhaps best known for a steady string of legal successes in cases of particularly serious government malfeasance. Because of MQG's reputation for doggedly pursuing the public interest, often its mere involvement in a case prompts the government to take corrective measures. MQG often sends individual cases that cannot be resolved to the police or State Comptroller for further action; the organization on its own brings a small minority of cases to courts. MQG's success in the Supreme Court has established an unmatched reputation.

Today, MQG is recognized as the county's leading public petitioner to the Supreme Court. Due to MQG's petitions:

Coalition agreements among the various parties, which used to be kept secret from the public, must be made from now on public before the Knesset confirms a new government.
Mayors and other local government heads, whom used to bear no responsibility for misappropriation of funds, are now held personally accountable for such actions
A court ruling requiring closer monitoring of public sector appointments was obtained, ending the practice of appointing highly unqualified political cronies to responsible public positions
A Supreme Court panel of seven judges overruled the Knesset's decision not to remove the immunity of Knesset Member Michael Gorolovsky, allowing him to be indicted for his involvement in the Double Voting incident in Knesset.
Knesset Members Chazan and Blumenthal waived their immunity
Illegal pension rises that the Knesset had granted its members were cancelled and the money returned to public coffers
The Knesset Committee instructed political parties to return to public coffers illegal donations they had received
The CEO of a government company was forced to resign after investigation revealed corruption in his company
The Supreme Court decided that the Civil Service Commissioner must be not a political, but a professional and independent appointment
Investigations of sensitive military issues were taken out of the internal sphere and given to outside independent investigators
The National Insurance Company, which had previously disregarded the law to employ actuaries, now does

As a true grassroots organization, MQG's members set its agenda and oversee its operations. Members of its administrative committee, who are chosen at a general meeting, establish the MQG's policies and oversee at least 60 other committees, including the executive board. Eliad Shraga, founder of MQG, serves as the chairman of the administrative committee.