The Mossad, Sayeret Matkal and the Weizmann Institute of Science are all fighting the coronavirus – so where exactly is the problem?
The Mossad, which is responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations, and counterterrorism around the globe, has proven its unique capabilities in recent weeks by securing protective medical gear along with shipments of ventilators and additional equipment to help Israel better cope with the coronavirus.
The best and brightest researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot developed a questionnaire of symptoms that can accurately predict the next outbreak centers. Senior officers in Sayeret Matkal, the IDF's long-range reconnaissance and counterterrorism unit, are helping lab workers streamline the testing process. There's no question that Israel has people with creative minds and incredible abilities, and all of them want to help in the fight against the coronavirus.
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Sans a central project manager, however, what we are getting is one giant mess instead. Case in point, the first shipment of testing swabs brought in by the Mossad didn't meet the Health Ministry's criteria. The questionnaire developed by the Weizmann Institute researchers succumbed to bureaucracy, and a critical two weeks later a private company surprisingly replaced the scientists, who were brushed aside. Senior Sayeret Matkal officers, chief among them the unit's commander, were asked to organize the testing mess and work with soldiers from Unit 8200 to iron out the laboratories' antiquated and slow systems.
Yes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's appointment of Mossad Director Yossi Cohen to head the procurement efforts abroad, in the wake of the swab fiasco, greatly improved the coordination between the Mossad and Health Ministry. But Netanyahu is prime minister, he isn't supposed to manage the crisis by himself, certainly not when coalition talks are still ongoing, and not when he is forced to remain in isolation.
The prime minister needs to appoint a project manager to work under him, an inter-ministerial super-coordinator – the terminology isn't what's important here, rather the substance. And no, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov is not the right person for the job. Bar Siman-Tov is the director-general of the Health Ministry, but this crisis goes far beyond the scope of the ministry's authority and knowledge.
This ideal super-coordinator will manage and integrate all the activities pouring into this fight, starting from the health directives to the public, travel restrictions, examining all the economic ramifications of the pandemic, guiding the labor force and organizing compensation packages for salaried employees and small business owners alike. A designated body of this sort would better and more efficiently utilize the genius researchers at the Weizmann Institute and the brilliant officers of 8200 and Sayeret Matkal.
In terms of public relations, there also isn't one address. The Health Ministry's website doesn't provide all the necessary information, and you cannot give one million newly unemployed citizens the runaround through chaotic press releases, websites that freeze and endless piles of forms to fill out. Netanyahu's appearances on prime time, which are good and necessary, aren't enough. There's a need for a public relations body to be established under the super-coordinator, capable of providing information and guidance in multiple languages, tailoring and making it accessible for the elderly, debunking fake news, and answering the public's ever-expanding list of questions.
Within 24 hours from the establishment of this national corona headquarters, every government ministry, regional council, the IDF, Magen David Adom, the Israel Police and mainly the public would know there is someone out there to trust, to turn to, and that there's one concentrated nervous system capable of truly seeing the broad picture. And then we wouldn't need senior officers from Sayeret Matkal to waste their time typing in lab results.
