The political chaos Israel is facing presses the need for a political entity that focuses on meeting the needs of elderly Israelis across the board.

The understanding that only an organized political power with an orderly platform can mark actual achievements for senior citizens is at the heart of any effort to form such a political entity.

The latter should avoid dealing with anything other than sectorial policy issues, such as raising pension benefits to match minimum wage, equating men's and women's dependents' pensions, eliminating the disgraceful assessment tests the elderly have to go through to qualify for long-term care benefits, increasing the number of foreign nursing workers, or passing laws fighting abuse against the elderly.

Elderly Israelis wield considerable electoral power and the proper political entity could make the most of this electorate, which numbers some 3 million Israelis.

It is unthinkable that in current-day Israel the police find the remains of senior citizens who passed away without anyone noticing; that Holocaust survivors would be dependent on charities; or that decrees such as "rise before the elderly," and "do not cast me away when I am old," would be anything but obeyed.

We are in need of a political entity that would be solely focused on reinstating, sustaining, and preserving senior citizens' dignity.

Ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, as well as the Islamist Ra'am party, have proven that focusing your energy on specific political objectives gets the job done.

This can be the case for elderly Israelis as well: a pensioners' party must make it clear that is would be willing to consider partnering with any coalition that ensures our elderly receive their rightful place in the society of which they are the founding fathers; that they are afforded nutritional security, proper long-term medical care, and even recreational activities.

Let us pay out debt to our elderly – as we will be them ourselves one day. Let us come together and rise to the challenge of forming a political party that looks out for the elderly's interests and let's do that sooner rather than later.

Dr. Avi Bitzur is the former director-general of the Senior Citizens Affairs Ministry. He currently heads the Gerontology Studies Program at Beit Berl Academic College in Kfar Saba.

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Those who would be the architects of the defense doctrine concerning the Israeli home front are usually guided by two questions, both in theory and if practice: the first focuses on whether the home front can withstand the implication of a pre-emptive strike, and the second centers around the issue of jurisdiction over the home front in times of emergency.

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The first question addresses the pros and cons of trying to counter the enemy before it actually strikes, be it with conventional or nonconventional weapons, missile fire, or cyberattacks. However, it mostly ignores threats posed by natural disasters – fires, earthquakes, and even public health crises, like the global coronavirus pandemic with which Israel is currently grappling.

The second question addresses the issue of legal and operational responsibility for the home front, on the ground, regardless of the threat to the home front.

Does this responsibility fall to the military's Home Front Command, which in turn takes over the administration of all civilian aspects, such as ensuring bomb shelters are available, the running of the school system, welfare services, and commanding civilian emergency services, including Magen David Adom paramedics, the Fire and Rescue Service, the ZAKA mass casualty events rapid response serves, etc.

These questions are subject to an ongoing debate, but the coronavirus crisis has cemented the fact that municipalities are key to ensuring the public's needs are met. Local authorities are more than capable of carrying out vital missions that enhance their residents' safety and welfare, and they are often more prepared on the ground, meaning they can mobilize the necessary services faster.

The structure upon which Israel's emergency readiness is based in its entirety begins with the individual home. From there it moves up to the residential building, neighborhood, and community; and on to the local authority, be it a municipality or a local or regional council.

This model must address the "island concept" – an emergency situation during which the locality is essentially cut off from other cities and the central government for a period of 48 to 72 hours. This type of emergency can be brought on by a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, or be a man-made one, such as a cyberattack or – in case of a pandemic – a government decision to cordon off a "red" city or area, in accordance with the so-called "stoplight system."

Israel's current modus operandi is centralized rather than differential – the so-called corona cabinet treats the country as one unit, while in reality, there is simply no justification for imposing a nationwide lockdown over morbidity in one city.

We cannot devise optimal solutions until we understand that the resources allocated to local authorities must be significantly augmented, and their jurisdiction must be expanded, so as to allow them to properly deal with the various crises with which the Israeli home front must contend.

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For the past 73 years, Israel's elderly – our parents and this country's founding generation – have been devoid of proper representation in the Knesset. With the brief exception of three years (2006-2009), during which the Pensioners party had seven lawmakers in parliament,  on behalf of sat in the Knesset, no party seeking to champion the cause of Israel's senior citizens has ever crossed the electoral threshold.

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This has essentially created a situation where there is no one to fight for the rights of this vital social sector, whose members find themselves excluded from the very heart of Israeli democracy.

Ahead of the next month's elections, former Mossad intelligence agency chief Danny Yatom resurrected a pale version of the Pensioners party in what proved a failed bid. His announcement on Wednesday, saying that he was pulling out of the election race over the fact that he could not find a larger political party to partner with to ensure he would cross the electoral threshold, reflects an outrageous reality by which over 1.3 million Israelis have lost the right to vote for a sectorial party to represent them and fight not for power and prestige, but for pension benefits, late-in-life healthcare, and the right to grow old with dignity.

Iconic Israeli general Yigal Allon coined the now-immortal phrase, "A people that doesn't remember its past – its present is uncertain and its future is unclear." This should guide us when we debate matters of policy regarding our elderly.

Only by way of having an organized political party that focuses on this unique sector within the framework of the Knesset, can we be sure that the Israeli leadership pays these issues the proper attention and affords our senior citizens the full range of medical, financial, social, and cultural services they deserve.

The religious and Arab sectors have been able to ensure that they have lawmakers in the Knesset dedicated solely to serving their interests.   Senior citizens deserve the same.

Only sufficient parliamentary presence can ensure elderly Israelis' needs are met through legislation, and only significant electoral power can impact policymakers.

In current-day Israel, nothing gets done without political lobbying. This is the only way to tackles issues like all manners of abuse against the elderly, increasing pension benefits, and ensuring Holocaust survivors are cared for properly.

We all witnessed with horror the toll the coronavirus took on Israel's older populations with the pandemic first hit us last year when the government rolled out the national nursing home protection program only after 1,000 senior citizens had succumbed to the disease.

Israeli society contends with countless issues tearing it apart, but even in the chaotic reality we live in, some social norms and priorities must be observed. Ancient decrees such as "honor thy father and thy mother" and "rise before the elderly," and "do not cast me away when I am old," must also be anchored in modern legislation if they are to have actual substance.

This can be done only through the legislator and only by a political party dedicated to the interests of our senior citizens.

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Two rockets were fired from Gaza at southern and central Israel on Sunday. This may have been a small-scale incident compared to many other events in the Gaza Strip and the greater Middle East, but it may foretell the near future in terms of the security challenges Israel faces.

Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, immediately claimed that the fire was accidental – the result of a malfunction triggered by Sunday's stormy weather. But was that really the case?

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Hamas used a similar excuse in late October 2019, when a rocket was fired at Beersheba on a particularly stormy night. The Islamist terrorist group cited "a technical failure" caused by the heavy rainfall, which affected one of its armed launching pads.

A coincidence of this nature is hard to believe to begin with, and I, for one, certainly do not believe that lightning strikes the same place twice. It seems that there is more to this incident than meets the eye and therefore one must ask, what can this ostensibly sporadic incident teach us about what is to come?

First, the existence of locked and loaded rocket launching systems that are ready to engage at any moment raises serious questions about Hamas' abilities to hit the Israeli home front at will.

Second, if we look closely we will find that the rockets were fired on the first anniversary of the assassination of Islamic Jihad strongman Bahaa Abu al-Ata, and as much as the Palestinian terrorist groups seek to deny it, one has to wonder whether this was some sort of retaliation on their part.

A third point is that these were mid- and long-range rockets that reached the southern city of Ashdod and Bat Yam, in central Israel. The message Hamas sent here is clear: our projectiles can reach central Israel if we want them to. The greater Tel Aviv area is a major target for Hamas and the other terrorist groups in Gaza and none of them have ever bothered to deny it.

Next, one has to wonder if this was also a message to the Americans, as the shooting took place mere days after the US presidential election results and the emergence of Democratic hopeful Joe Biden as the winner.

Did Gaza's rulers attempt to send a clear and firm message to the Americans that they would be wise to change the strategies adopted by the Trump administration vis-à-vis the Palestinians – and sooner rather than later? Could this have been a veiled threat that the Palestinians will not hesitate to provoke hostilities unless Washington resumes the support lent to them?

Lastly, one has to wonder if this was also a message to Qatar in the wake of the announcement that it plans to cut its aid to Gaza. Doha has all but been footing the bill – to the tune of billions of dollars – for the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and it seems the Qataris have had enough. Hamas, for its part, is unlikely to take "no" for an answer.

The implications here are clear and Israel has to state and enforce red lines that Hamas simply cannot be allowed to cross. For every night during which Israelis in the greater Tel Aviv area lose sleep over rocket fire, the residents of Rafah should lose sleep for three nights.

The Home Front Command, however, must also investigate the failures in the air raid siren systems in Bat Yam and Ashdod. Was this, too, a result of the stormy weather, which may have interrupted the system's radars?

Israel must prepare, without delay, for a different reality in the Middle East, for escalating tensions in the southern sector, and for attempts by various adversaries, to provoke another intifada.

Israel's enemies look at the political chaos plaguing it and see an opportunity in the impending change in the American administration – an opportunity they have no intention of missing. The sooner Israel revises its strategy the better. There is no room for delays or hesitations.

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The first event was Health Minister Yuli Edelstein's decision to form a designated COVID-19 task force in his office. He then went the extra mile and subordinated two very senior ministry officials – Deputy Director General Prof. Itamar Grotto and Prof. Siegal Sadetzki, director of public health and the one to head the professional aspects of the corona crisis management during its first wave – to the individual heading this special team.

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This paved the way for the second event, which saw Sadetzki shock the system by resigning, citing professional disagreements over the way the government was handling the outbreak, particularly with respect to the speed in which it was rolling back the restrictions imposed on the public since mid-March in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.

Her resignation prompted the third event, namely the formation of a so-called "shadow corona cabinet," led by MK Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina faction.

Bennett, who served as the defense minister when the corona crisis erupted, lobbied tirelessly to have the Defense Ministry take the lead, saying that it was better prepared than the Health Ministry to handle a nationwide crisis of this nature.

He may have failed in his primary mission, but the IDF's Home Front Command was eventually called upon to assist cities across Israel deal with the crisis. Bennett's shadow task force – a civilian body – may wield no power to speak of but he has managed to form a team comprising renowned professionals in the field of crisis management, meaning it can be done.

Looking at the events unfold, especially now that Israel is in the throes of a second outbreak, raises the question of just who is making the decisions and spearheading the management of what is a national crisis with potentially catastrophic implications.

This question is more complex than it seems. Every government ministry has an emergency apparatus and now a coronavirus crisis one as well, and the same can be said for the municipalities nationwide. This type of needless bureaucracy is hardly conducive to streamlined crisis management. But given what we have been seeing so far, can the Health Ministry really lead the local government through this crisis?

Israel is no stranger to crises on both the local and national levels and both the government and local authorities are not short on contingency plans for dealing with various situations, including war, terrorism, cyberattacks, earthquakes and other natural disasters, hazardous material spills, and epidemics.

These plans, however, are hampered by excessive bureaucracy, political interests, the distrust between ministries themselves as well as between the ministries and local government, and a general lack of leadership and mismanagement of such events.

Nevertheless, these plans include calling up professionals who are at the top of their game with respect to risk assessment and management, event probability calculations, and crisis management, especially with respect to a dynamically developing situation like a global pandemic.

In the case of COVID-19, these experts – including Grotto and Sadetzki – mean to provide the government with information, projections, options, and available solutions, so that the powers that be can make an informed decision. It is unthinkable that every time we turn a corner another civilian or military entity pops up, touting its innovative ideas and impressive capabilities on how to deal with the outbreak and leaving us to pick and choose between the various professionals, procedures and ideas.

There is no doubt in my mind that the National Emergency Authority should have been managing the coronavirus crisis from day one but as that is not the case, we now find ourselves watching the National Security Council try to navigate a public health crisis. One could ask, is it any wonder we are in the grips of a second outbreak?

Israel was successful is staying ahead of the first coronavirus outbreak, which was the main reason it weathered it relatively well. The second outbreak, however, sees us not only lagging behind but chasing events as they unfold. There is no crisis management to speak of and it seems too many officials are busy bickering over who has the last word and catering to their egos rather than to the public's needs.

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There is a lesson to be learned from the coronavirus crisis and the public would be wise to study it well. In times like these, only the complete integration of authorities under the auspices of one entity will do, and this entity must have the professional support it needs, across the board, as it leads the charge.

The resurgence of COVID-19 disease in Israel is on the brink of becoming a catastrophe and we cannot leave its management to the Health Ministry alone. It is highly likely that the second wave of coronavirus won't be the last. The public should insist on the formation of a "one-stop-shop"-style body to spearhead the corona crisis management if Israel is to emerge from it safe and sound.

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Israeli society and especially the Israeli government cannot afford to make light of these projections, and we must all prepare for them meticulously, especially with respect to resource appropriation and management, legislation that must address every aspect of the situation, and in terms of public information campaigns offering the relevant fact and solutions in real-time.

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Israelis have gotten used to the "fly by the seat of your pants" system of doing things, based on ad-hoc solutions the majority of which stem from political considerations. These solutions all rely on the defense establishment, predominately the military, as the go-to problem-solver.

But sadly, that is not the case.

The coronavirus crisis has forced decision-makers to realize that the military cannot solve every problem and that extemporary solutions are ineffective. There is nothing that can replace organized and thorough preparatory work that follows a clear hierarchy. There is no excuse for a trial and error system that, at the end of the day, costs lives, for the sake of "drawing conclusions."

A painful example of this is the nursing home crisis triggered by the coronavirus outbreak. The lack of clear policy on testing and quarantine in nursing homes during the corona crisis – or what is currently believed to be the first wave of the pandemic – has resulted in the death of dozens of elderly patients. In fact, the majority of corona fatalities in Israel are ages 65 and over.

The systemic failure in dealing with the risk faced by nursing homes is an instructive example of how the situation has been mishandled. This underscores the need for a national emergency authority, but one that must be independent – not subjected to the Defense Ministry or the Home Front Command, and certainly not one that prepares only for contingencies involving military threats to civil society.

Not one bullet was fired during the corona crisis and the body that was supposed to handle such an outbreak should be different. A national emergency authority should comprise emergency management professionals – not military officers and it most certainly should not be headed by the prime minister.

The fact that the crisis in Israeli nursing homes was not addressed at all during the first 55 days of the outbreak does not stem from the failure to implement the ideal model of dealing with an outbreak, but there is no question that had the proper response model would have been applied to the threat posed by the contagion, we would be looking at completely different results – ones that have exacted a heavy price from our parents and grandparents, who are, after all, our founding generation.

The nursing home crisis reflects a chaotic decision-making process that was largely detached from reality. It should stand as a cautionary tale for crisis and emergency management, especially since it is highly likely this will not be the last crisis Israel faces.

Faced with a myriad of crisis scenarios stemming from threats such as cyberattacks, terrorism, earthquakes, epidemics, etc. panels must be formed to bring together the relevant professionals who must then outline the proper response across the board. Each such forum should include the relevant ministries and administrations, as well as any other relevant entity that could be called upon to handle a developing event.

A forum of this nature dedicated to the coronavirus, for example, should have included the Health and Finance ministries, alongside the Shin Bet security service, the Mossad intelligence agency, emergency and recovery organizations such as Magen David Adom and Zaka, and the Israel Police.

Professional emergency response teams must be headed by the relevant professionals – not military officials who happen to specialize in emergency or disaster situations. The professionals heading these forums will devise the necessary course of action and potential solutions and present them to the government.

Consider the nursing home crisis: none of the professional discussions held by the various ministries included the head of the Israeli Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Association, nor was the Health Ministry's own Department of Geriatrics represented during these discussions. Neither were municipal officials or welfare professionals, who are key to the fair and proper representation of Israel's 1,350,000-strong elderly community.

The elderly – arguable the most vulnerable sector during the coronavirus outbreak – were not represented in government discussions. It took 55 days for the powers that be to address the nursing home crisis, but only 7% of elderly Israelis reside in nursing homes. What about the other 93%?

It is precisely this faulty decision-making process and lack of representation that marginalized the issue and resulted in the dramatic corona fatality rates among elderly Israelis.

"Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails" (Psalm 71:9) cannot be treated as yet another overused phrase. It is a decree by which we must live and in this case, it is a decree that demands we properly address crises such as these. The type of systemic failures we have witnessed with respect to Israel's elderly during the coronavirus crisis cannot be tolerated.

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