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The wrong man for the ILA By Alexandre (Sandy) Kedar Tags: israel  The appointment of a new director of the Israel Lands Administration could very rapidly go from being a bureaucratic issue that primarily concerns land experts to a ticking bomb for society, due to the sensitivity of the matter of land and its influence on majority-minority relations in Israel. That is precisely what is liable to take place in the wake of the expected appointment of Yoel Lavi, the mayor of Ramle, as director of the ILA. Last year Lavi responded quite brusquely to a request from Arab Ramle residents to give Arab names to the streets in Arab neighborhoods of Ramle. Among his less scathing comments, he suggested that the people who complained about the street names move to Jaljulya. During Lavi's term as mayor, he also worked to keep the Jews and Arabs of his city apart. He initiated the construction of a wall between the Jewish neighborhood of Ganei Dan and the Arab neighborhood of Juarish and supported housing projects that, using various methods and excuses, kept Arabs out. For instance, the municipality gave its blessing to the establishment of a new neighborhood called Park Tzafon, which offered deals to army veterans only. Advertisement One method common in such cases is the establishment of a residents association requiring all who want to take part in the project to appear before a screening committee. This is how some towns, moshavim and kibbutzim sort through those who want to join them. This filter was limited by the Kadan ruling, in which the Supreme Court made the town of Katzir allocate land for Adel Kadan, an Arab citizen. The ruling appears to apply to agricultural communities as well. Professional and meticulous monitoring on the part of the ILA is necessary to deal with the filtering system and implementation of the Kadan ruling, requiring a director who can carry out the job fairly and wholeheartedly. It is not only Lavi's harmful comments that are problematic in this context; his position as a politician and a member of the ruling party, Kadima, also make him an unsuitable candidate. The job of ILA director is not a run-of-the-mill executive job. It entails influencing policymaking no less than implementing it. This has quite often been done via decisions made surreptitiously in a non-transparent process. This shows, more than anything, the need for the head of the ILA to be a non-partisan professional. The danger in this case is intensified by the power structure of the senior civil service. The ILA director can shape policy in accordance with his worldview by interpreting incidents in the field a certain way, by allowing exceptions and by formulating proposals for decisions by the Israel Land Council. Once a decisive ILA director who deviates from the boundaries of reasonable policy is appointed, attempting to block him is like putting a finger in the dike. The logic of good and democratic government requires the head of the Israel Land Administration to function as a dam keeping out underhanded opportunism backed by poor and discriminatory policy that is politically biased or corrupt. Such a person must have a clean record and professional orientation, without a direct political affiliation, and should keep his distance from extremism, which is liable to impair his ability to win the confidence of all sectors of the public. The appointment of someone like Lavi deviates not only from the logic of good government, but also from the demands of common sense and the interest of a public that wants a healthy society. Dr. Alexandre (Sandy) Kedar is a senior lecturer at the University of Haifa law school and is active in the Association for Distributive Justice. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Bring down the house Knesset speaker calls for wrecking of yeshiva killer's family home. Frum and fabulous Beauty salons offer Haredi women a unique brand of modest glamour.   1.   Nonsense. Perfect choice. 19:30  |  Colin Wright 10/03/08   2.   Agreed, he should not be anyone in politics. And be fair and just 21:43  |  Jos 10/03/08

Today Online Abbas: Israel has agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas Responses: 382 Amos Oz: Left wing can return to power in next elections Responses: 139 Akiva Eldar: Israel knows the price it has to pay for security Responses: 66 AJC leader urges Israel to give 'Durban 2' meet a chance Responses: 92 More Headlines 23:07 UN Chief, U.S. urge Israel to halt plans to build in W. Bank settlements 18:32 Abbas: Israel has agreed to cease-fire with Hamas 22:01 FM to U.S. officials: Hamas will not choose when to fire and when to regroup 02:11 Britain bans Likud's Moshe Feiglin from entering country 22:10 Knesset speaker calls for demolition of Jerusalem yeshiva terrorist's home 23:15 Sarkozy to Peres: France will always be at Israel's side 14:43 In show of modesty, Haredi women make up in private 01:19 J'lem official: Major quake could kill generation of schoolchildren 23:32 Greek Cyprus opposes Turkish Cypriot plan to open trade office in T.A. 01:40 Director, screenwriter guilds to boycott television awards ceremony 18:22 Lieberman to Arab MKs: One day we will 'take care of you' Previous Editions Select Day 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb 26 feb

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