Israeli ministers fail to disclose agenda as required by law

Seventeen different Israeli ministries have failed to release daily planners containing declared visits and meetings held by the ministers during their tenure, Walla reported on Sunday night citing the Movement for the Promotion of a Fair Society and the Movement for Freedom of Information.

Some of the ministries that have yet to respond to an inquiry by the NGOs include the Defense Ministry, the Education Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

As per protocol,  all government ministries must declare the ministers’ day planners and release them for public viewing unless doing so is found to be harmful to Israel’s security, in which case, sections of the planners can be censored.

The Movement for the Promotion of a Fair Society and the Movement for Freedom of Information have both long worked to make ministers’ daily planners easily accessible for Israelis seeking the publicly-available information.

Daily planners ‘at the core of government’s work’

“It is understood that this information is made available to the public in order to allow for it to examine the outcome of its vote, in one way or the other,” the movements stated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are both seen in the Knesset in Jerusalem. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

“The planners and the information contained in them are the core of the government’s work and allow for a comprehensive check of the government’s agenda, order of priority, and execution of tasks,” they added.

In addition, the planners contain information on the “identities of those who come in contact with the senior elected officials,” the movements said.

The full list of ministries that have failed to declare their ministers’ daily planners is as follows: 

The PMO, Defense Ministry, Education Ministry, Strategic Affairs Ministry, Public Diplomacy Ministry, Heritage Ministry, Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Ministry, National Missions Ministry, Intelligence Ministry, Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, Tourism Ministry, the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, the Women’s Advancement Ministry, Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Ministry, the Sport and Culture Ministry and lastly, the Transportation Ministry.

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