Israel is in the midst of a crisis of historic proportions. People's lives are in danger and the economy faces an enormous challenge. All branches of the government are focused on dealing with an unprecedented situation. None of this is deterring a handful of journalists and public officials from demanding that an investigative committee be appointed to probe the government's handling of the coronavirus. Aside from the demoralizing effect, such a call while the crisis is still unfolding could cause decision-makers at every level to make decisions based on inappropriate considerations and possibly cause harm to people's lives, the economy, or both.
Government failures in times of crisis, as well as ongoing negligent conduct on matters of great public and systemic importance, require examination and scrutiny and must be probed. Therefore, Israeli law gives the government (and in certain cases, the Knesset Oversight Committee) the authority to convene national investigative committees, which in turn have broad authority both in terms of conducting their investigations and in making recommendations on both the personal and systemic levels. These committees are an important, powerful tool with which to draw conclusions and make the government system more effective.
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But investigative committees also carry a risk. If they are used too often, they can distract the government from its work. Rather than solving crises and managing risk according to the best parameters when decisions have to be made, leaders, commanders, and senior functionaries could be tempted to make decisions based on what they might have to tell some imaginary committee and what could save them from being targeted in a committee report.
All this is even truer in a crisis like the one we are currently experiencing. Like the rest of the world, Israel is facing a novel multi-dimensional crisis that affects all the systems in our lives and is seriously disrupting our routine – and most importantly, poses a threat to the lives of tens of thousands of Israelis. Although Israel is used to handling emergencies, no government system has experienced a health crisis that resembles corona. Even though the various government ministries prepared themselves for an epidemic, this crisis – like every war – is a morass of uncertainty.
There are no textbook solutions to coronavirus. To best handle the epidemic, the nation's leaders and various entities – from the prime minister to the cabinet ministers to hospital directors – must make tough decisions in the face of uncertainty and constantly changing data. Amid this fog of battle, the nation's leaders have to navigate between the desire to maintain routine and contain economic damage with the desire to save lives. Any plausible decision made in a situation like this could turn out to be the right or wrong one, but only in hindsight.
Even in the most optimistic scenario, Israel will suffer deaths and its economy will sustain a major blow. The campaign to launch an investigative committee after the crisis passes could increase the damage and even cost lives. If our leaders and decision-makers have to operate under the shadow of a looming investigation, their decisions could be biased and made according to how they feel they will appear in retrospect, thereby increasing the harm that will inevitably occur. It's possible that an investigative committee will be appropriate at some time, but the current campaign demanding one – even as the number of patients and unemployed rise daily – does more harm than good.
