MK Orlev
MK OrlevIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The days of quixotic public servants with no accountability in Israel may be coming an end.

On Wednesday the Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a preliminary reading of a bill by Welfare and Social Services Minister Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) that would obligate public employees to wear an identification tags and carry official identification.

The proposal was approved by the Committee with no opposition after Orlev agreed to coordinate his proposal with the government.

The proposal states public employees involved in work-related tasks, as well as their immediate supervisor, will be required to don visible identification with their name and job function in Hebrew and Arabic. It also states that a public servant who provides service via telephone or internet will be required to give his name and position.

Orlev's explanatory notes for the bill say it is intended to "improve the quality of service provided to citizens in various public institutions, by public employees who are in direct contact with the public."

"First, requiring identification tags ensures a direct and more equal connection between the citizen and public servant, who sometimes wields powers that could materially affect the rights of the citizen.

"Second, identification tags promote the sense of personal accountability and commitment among public servants who deal with the public.

"Third, identification tags shall ensure that the citizen has the ability to complain about the conduct of a public servant if he feels his lawful rights were denied, or if the employee's attitude is unbefitting."

Orlev's bill now advances to the Knesset Committee for Labor, Social Affairs and Health for its next reading.