The State Comptroller report on the Carmel fire was expected to be a disaster for Minister of Interior Eli Yishai. It was expected to lay the bulk of the responsibility on him (jointly with Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz) and call on him to resign or be removed from his position as minister.

People don't like Eli Yishai. That is for sure. Sometimes it is the Right, sometimes it is the Left, sometimes it is Ashkenazim, sometimes Sephardim. Sometimes it is those "more religious" and sometimes it is those "less religious". Sometimes it is the Litvishe haredim, sometimes the masoratim, sometimes men, sometimes women, etc,. It all depends on who he is upsetting with his positions on any given issue.

Many people were looking to the Comptroller report with great expectations, as if this would finally solve our Eli Yishai problem. The Comptroller would call for his removal, and off with his head. We would be finally be rid of him, as if the PM would actually fire him or as if he would actually resign just because the State Comptroller recommended it.

Sure enough, the Comptroller released his report, and while still laying a lot of blame on Yishai, he did not call for Yishai's removal.

If people were relatively consistent, they should have bowed their heads in submission and said maybe next time.

Yet, since the Comptroller report has been released, people are upset the report didn't call for his resignation/termination, and they are publicly calling for it anyway. What's the point of an investigation and a report if the conclusion is foregone and pre-determined. And what is the point of the investigation and report if the report will be ignored and the desired outcome called for anyway?

I am convinced that instead of using democratic tools to run the country properly, people are just using them to advance the platforms, agendas and/or people they like, and to knock down those they don't. When the results aren't in sync with what people want, they ignore the results and promote their desires anyway.

I am no big fan of Eli Yishai, but the report didn't lay enough blame on him to demand his termination as minister. That's it. Maybe next time.


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