Local gov’t head Bibas: We need $100m. for home-front defense
Modi’in Mayor Chaim Bibas, who is also chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, is a rising star in Israeli politics and an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appointed Bibas to lead the Likud’s committee to support candidates in municipal elections later this year.
Sitting in his sun-filled office at Modi’in City Hall, the books on Bibas’s desk hint at his ambitions – Leadership by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and the 100 Speeches that Changed the World. His favorites, by the way, are by Moses and prime minister David Ben-Gurion.
But when asked about his future ambitions, Bibas, who will be speaking on April 29 at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York, stays coy, saying he will move to national politics “one day.”
Unlike Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who announced he won’t be running in October’s municipal elections, in order to pursue a career in national politics, Bibas said he’s confident that Netanyahu will stay prime minister until the end of his term in November 2019, and that unless he becomes a senior minister, there’s no reason for him to leave his current job.
“Today, I’m doing something more interesting,” Bibas said.
The mayor, who represents all of Israel’s mayors before the national government, is laser-focused on his current goal: To raise more money to prepare Israel’s home front for the next war.
Large swaths of the home front are grossly unprepared for a war, he warned.
“We’re missing NIS 400 million to NIS 500m. for homefront defense, and we need it immediately. The state can’t delay with this,” Bibas said. THE FEDERATION of Local Authorities has decided to focus on home front preparedness in 2018-19.
“Look at Operation Protective Edge [in 2014],” Bibas said. “There were rockets, not heavy missiles, from Gaza that stopped half the country from functioning. The stronger the home front is, the more the IDF can calmly make decisions and have the space to act. If we’re weaker, it has pressure to make hasty decisions.”
Therefore, the federation authorized a two-pronged plan for home front preparedness.
First is physical readiness, building safe rooms and shelters and reinforcing buildings, so people feel safe.
“If your kid is in school, you want to know that he or she is in a safe place if a missile falls,” Bibas explained.
The country’s South is relatively well prepared, because there was a conflict in the area so recently, but the North is woefully lacking in protective structures, he said.
“In the ’80s, there was a war in Lebanon, and then there were rockets there, so the government invested in the North, but when the front moved south, the resources moved there,” Bibas said.
However, with Hezbollah stockpiling arms in Lebanon, and rocket and missile ranges growing, “we need to complete preparedness all over the country,” he added.
The second part of the plan is for the local governments to implement the national government’s plans.
“Without the local government, it’s impossible to prepare the home front for war,” Bibas argued. “We have great experience in past operations and in our personal experiences in the army. We know how to prepare the home front and give the towns all the tools they need.”
Bibas said Israel’s work to protect its home front also helps other countries around the world.
He called Israel “the world’s laboratory,” not only for startups and the hi-tech industry, but for emergency preparedness.
“In Western Europe and US there’s an increasing amount of terrorism, and we can let them use our experience, knowledge and technology,” he said.
According to Bibas, Diaspora Jewry can play a key role in this effort.
“We need Diaspora Jewry to continue supporting our ability to protect ourselves,” he said. “Most ambulances, for example, come from donations from philanthropists. There’s no reason this shouldn’t continue. It helps us save lives. We’re not such a big country. We need to have enough resources for everyone.”
Cooperation with US Jewish communities has been beneficial to both sides, Bibas said.
“A large part of local government is connected to many Jewish communities around the world, through philanthropy, educational projects, student exchanges and Jewish identity,” he said. “This connection is very important to us. It creates a path for partnerships and for philanthropists to help the periphery, to improve public structures and education.”
The Federation of Local Authorities chairman argued that ties to local government is a real way to have an influence on the ground in Israel.
“Local leadership is the real arm enacting government policy in Israel, in education, culture, sport, transportation, as well as emergency preparedness for the home front,” he said.