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Part Six - The Freedom of the Citizen and Internal and External Security

Part One
Civil liberties and internal security (1/4)

The local police chief – elected by the public

At the heart of the agreement between citizens and their countries is that citizens give up some of their freedom and entrust the state with the perogative of exercising power. In exchange, states maintain the safety of citizens and protect their remaining freedoms from external and internal threats. But human nature and historical experience show that the renunciation of liberty may become a slippery slope, for any entity that receives power will always strive to preserve and increase it. In order to curb this trend, the active involvement of citizens is required.

The police are no exception. Like any monopolistic state body, the police want to expand their powers and receive more resources. This naturally leads to a distortion of the relations between the citizen and the policeman. Civilians cease to be customers and instead become a side show, or even an obstacle, in an attempt by police chiefs to gain power and authority. This distortion causes many negative behaviors, which are too common among Israeli policemen: from basic lack of courtesy to harassment of passersby and unreasonable searches to violent and unnecessary confrontations with civilians, which end too often with a complaint of assaulting a police officer against anyone who dares to complain.

In order to correct the distortion, citizens should be allowed to be involved in supervising the police and determining their priorities. The Zehut Party will allow such involvement by transferring to communities[1] the right to choose the police commanders who will serve them[2].

When the community chooses the local police chief, the relations between the police and the citizens will return to their proper state. The police chief will understand that he is working for the citizens and on their behalf, and will pass this concept down to the policemen under his command. A commander who wants to be re-elected will ensure that his subordinates treat civilians with courtesy and efficiency, and are careful to protect their rights. When the police devote most of their efforts to community service, their status in the community will rise accordingly. Instead of citizens being afraid and suspicious of the police, they will respect and trust them. In such a community, it is much more likely that civilians will report crimes and cooperate with the police when necessary.

Elimination of the biometric database

A biometric database is a computerized database of biometric data, such as fingerprints and facial features. Unlike a biometric ID that allows biometric data to be protected against leakage, a biometric database is a digital collection of these data that is stored in searchable form. Such a database allows the identification of a person without the need for a card, without his consent and sometimes even without his knowledge[3].

One difference between a pool of biometric data and another, for example, of passwords or credit cards, is that a password or a credit card can be canceled and replaced if they leak, while fingerprints and facial features cannot.

The stated problem that the biometric database is ostensibly designed to solve is that of forged Israeli identity cards being issued by impostors. There is indeed such a problem, but the problem can be solved by means of smart cards containing "encrypted" biometric information, such as fingerprint information, without the possibility of retrieving the information and without the need for a central database.

The danger of serious crime by means of data, the leakage of which from the database is only a matter of time, is far greater than the present danger of forged documents. The root of the state's desire to maintain such a reservoir lies in another reason. The regime has a natural tendency to seek to expand its powers at the expense of civil liberties - and the ultimate excuse for this is usually the security of citizens. The possession of information about civilians is a power in the hands of the government, and the more of this information there is, the greater the power of the government.

In the case of the biometric database, the stupidity cries out to the heavens, since, as stated, there are solutions to all the problems that the database has officially come to solve, without a database. A smart card containing encrypted and concise biometric information[4] will protect against all counterfeits, without the dangers and problems of a biometric database.

The Zehut Party will immediately cancel the biometric law, and in particular the biometric database, and will restore the citizen's privacy and freedom.

Ceasing the persecution of cannabis consumers

In the State of Israel, there are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of active cannabis consumers and over one million residents who have used cannabis at least once. Cannabis is not dangerous and is no more addictive than other substances that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. The vast majority of users of cannabis are normal people who do not harm anyone by their actions.

As such, there is no justification for treating cannabis consumers as criminals who must be registered in criminal proceedings[5]. There is no justification for the severe punishment for consuming cannabis - up to three years in prison. There is no justification for the manpower and resources that the police invest in enforcement activities against cannabis, which cost the Israeli public hundreds of millions of shekels each year. Moreover, there is a great danger that the state will exploit the threat that hangs over the heads of many Israelis who have not harmed anyone.

We seek to create a legal infrastructure which will allow for legally growing and commercializing cannabis, even for non-medicinal purposes, in which any adult who is interested will be able to consume cannabis without breaking the law. To this end, regulations must be made to ensure that the acquisition of cannabis will be done consciously and by adults, without creating restrictions that are intended to make such purchase difficult or dissuasive.

Zehut will push for responsible legalization of the use and trade of cannabis and its components, while establishing appropriate regulations, similar to the rules and restrictions on sales of alcohol. As with all types of regulation, it will be necessary to examine the need for these regulations as well, and to update them from time to time, in accordance with lessons learned from events in Israel and from similar processes in other countries around the world. These are the main conditions that the Zehut Party will adopt in the first phase:

[1] The concept of community is discussed here in the context of the concept of the community which is interwoven throughout the platform, and is presented in the Community Model chapter.

[2] Of course, this right will be removed from a community that denies the authority of the state either by declaration or by action.

[3] Such as identifying people who appear in photos from demonstrations or social networks.

[4] In other words, knowing the concise information does not allow the subject to be identified.

[5] A few weeks before the signing of the current platform, the Israeli public was informed of the new policy of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan regarding incriminating cannabis consumers, according to which, only upon a fourth offense will a criminal record be made of the consumer, while in prior instances, fines will be imposed on him. Even if we do not yet know how this policy will actually affect consumers, it is important to emphasize that the substantive component, the criminalization of consumers and their treatment as criminals, is still in place and will not change within the framework of this reform.

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