Netanyahu Accused of Systematically Weakening Israel's Foreign Ministry
Translated & summarized from Zman Yisrael by baba
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused of systematically weakening Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the last 15 years. During his own tenure as acting foreign minister from 2015 to 2019, the ministry's budget was cut by 14% while the national budget grew. Subsequent ministers have failed to fully restore the ministry's standing due to persistent structural issues and frequent political appointments to the role. State Comptroller reports have documented ongoing failures in consular services, document verification, and cybersecurity.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused of weakening Israel's Foreign Ministry over 15 years.
- Between 2015 and 2019, Netanyahu held the foreign minister role, during which the ministry's budget dropped 14%.
- A 2020 State Comptroller report found a 39% budget disparity between the Foreign Ministry and the overall state budget.
- 35 government bodies reportedly encroached on the Foreign Ministry's responsibilities.
- Subsequent foreign ministers have struggled to reverse the ministry's decline due to structural issues.
- Frequent political appointments and rotation agreements have destabilized the role of Foreign Minister.
Over the past 15 years, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has seen a gradual erosion of its authority, budget, and administrative continuity, largely attributed to decisions made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A significant period of this decline occurred between May 2015 and February 2019, when Netanyahu held the foreign affairs portfolio himself without appointing a dedicated minister. A policy research paper by the Mitvim Institute documented this decision as having left the ministry weakened.
A 2020 State Comptroller's report revealed that the Foreign Ministry's budget decreased by 14% between 2015 and 2019, while the overall state budget grew by 25% during the same period, a disparity of 39% against the ministry. Subsequent ministers have struggled to restore the ministry's standing, as structural issues identified in the Comptroller's reports persisted.
During Netanyahu's tenure as acting foreign minister, the ministry was managed by senior officials, lacking a political leader to drive a diplomatic agenda. This absence, according to the Mitvim Institute, left the ministry vulnerable to tactical decisions and a continuous decline in its status relative to other bodies within Israel's foreign relations apparatus. The Comptroller's report further noted that 35 government bodies encroached upon the Foreign Ministry's responsibilities, with the ministry receiving only 1.4 billion shekels of a total 3.2 billion shekel foreign relations budget in 2019.
Following 2019, a series of short-term appointments and rotation agreements for the foreign minister role, including Israel Katz, Gabi Ashkenazi, Yair Lapid, and Eli Cohen, further destabilized the ministry. This frequent turnover, often as part of political bargaining, hindered the development of a consistent foreign policy strategy. The Comptroller's reports continued to highlight systemic failures, including issues with consular services, document verification, and cybersecurity, indicating that the erosion initiated under Netanyahu's direct oversight was not rectified by subsequent ministers. The cumulative effect has been a ministry that has lost relevance and authority, with its former powers dispersed among other government entities.