The "Laor" Movement
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The "Laor" Movement
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Laor's ideas focus around two values: responsibility and choice. In the State of Israel at present, these two values are lacking. Politicians and bureaucrats manage our lives. The political and economic system makes us dependent on their favors and fosters a citizen who lacks responsibility and does not take initiative. In colloquial Hebrew this is known as having "a small mind" -- in other words, keeping a low profile. Politicians who do not take responsibility for failures hold the reins of government, dishing out favors for their relatives, cronies and others who share their views. WHOEVER BELIEVES THAT A NATION CAN EXIST IN THE LONG TERM AT THIS LEVEL OF IRRESPONSIBILITY -- IS NAIVE. RESPONSIBILITY -- means that we are expected to fulfill our obligations and be ready to pay for the results of our actions. Responsibility exists only when a person has the feeling of belonging to the society in which s/he lives. CHOICE -- means the right and the capability to decide between various paths. Free choice exists only when the person knows what is the nature of each option and where it will lead, when s/he possesses the tools and the means to take that path. Responsibility and choice are based on relationships of respect and trust and on patterns of authority and of accountability. A LIFE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND OF CHOICE means that both the citizen and the leader will be responsible for their actions. In order to achieve this, the citizen must be granted the authority and the reasoning to manage his/her life and to claim an accounting from the leaders for their actions. In order to achieve these goals, there must be a division between the powers that should be in the citizen's hands and the powers that have to remain the provenance of the government. The state is the tool for the fulfillment of our destiny as a people while the community is the tool for fulfillment of our individual and group aspirations. Therefore, these frameworks have to be constructed in accordance with their purposes. Laor proposes that cultural and social issues be severed from the government's sphere of responsibility and transferred to the community's sphere of responsibility. The nation's inhabitants will be organized, according to their own choice, in local or regional communities that will handle matters such as: education, culture, health services, garbage disposal, and so on. Funding for these purposes will come from that section of the national budget that will be called the People's Budget: it will be for the direct use of the communities, according to the citizens' instructions. The government system will be freed to concentrate on its own spheres of responsibility: defense of the country, administration of foreign policy, law and order in society, and the construction of the social and economic infrastructure. In all these spheres, long-term planning and the interests of future generations will increase in importance. We have to ensure that our immediate needs do not push aside our obligation to take care of the future of our children. Therefore, Laor proposes a new system of governance that includes, among other elements, a president who is chosen by the people and an upper house of parliament. Their main role will be to delineate a national policy in issues that are the government's responsibility. In accordance with these principles -- responsibility and choice -- Laor suggests baselines to build afresh the political and social structures of the State of Israel. To Build Our Home A new -- That Is Laor's Way
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