Update:
July 1999
Israel - Information Society Policies
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Israel - Information Society Policies |
6. Information Society Policies
The main effort to establish an umbrella policy for the Information Society in Israel was lead by M.P. Michael (Miky) Eitan. At the end of 1996 he established and headed a sub-committee of the Economics Committee of the Parliament (Knesset) for "The Preparation of Israel for the Information Age". The work of this parliamentary committee was held in parallel to the establishment of the Parliament's information services (Web Site) also leaded by M.K. Eitan; in the following years he has became Minister of Science and then vice-minister at the Prime-Minister Office in charge of the program HILA (Preparation of Israel for the Information Age).
The parliamentary committee presented its recommendations in April 1997 following an intensive work of several professional task forces established by M.K. Eitan working in close collaboration with the National Committeee for Information Technologies Infrastructure headed by Prof. Danny Dolev. They were able to engage more than 80 consultants who worked voluntarily in the diverse task forces.
The task forces dealed with the following issues: (a) Governmental readiness; (b) Accessibility to the government for the citizen; (c) Legislation; (d) Telecommunications infrastructures and regulation; (e) Education; (f) Electronic Commerce; (g) Databases; (h) Data security and protection; (i) Hebrew and standards; (j) Israel and its economy in the Information Age; (k) The Jewish People in the Diaspora.
(a) The government should adopt a master plan following the blueprint set up by the present report and allocate the necessary resources for its phased implementation. (b) It is recommended to establish at the P.M. Office a team of eight officers whose task should be to initiate, coordinate, to train and follow up the implementation of this plan at the different ministries. (c) A National Council for Information Technologies should be established composed by experts from the academy, the industry and the civil service; the council should set up recommendations for the governments policy in this area. (d) A Committee of Ministers responsible for Government Accessibility to the Citizen should implement the modern communications tools to remould the relationships between the citizen and the government. (e) In every governmental unit the general director will nominate one of the members of the unit's management board as the Chief Information Officer who will be responsible for the implementation of the government decisions and the legal imperatives concerning information.
Government's Accessibility to the Citizen
The citizen should be treated as a customer
which the governmental units shouseek to serve at the same level
of service as a customer in the private sector: (a) Every
governmental unit should establish Web sites which will offer
information that the citizen is entitled to access; the
information should be regularly updated. (b) Every governmental
unit will decide how to provide the information services insofar
that the user interface be follow uniform standards established
for this purpose ensuring the easy and confortable access for the
citizen from one service to another and from every one of them to
all citizens. (c) The government will decide that all its units
should use electronic mail between themselves and between them
and the citizens. (d) Information kiosks should be established
for access to government information through cooperation between
the private and governmental sectors (e) The Information
Technologies unit at the P.M. Office will establish a Portal for
access to government information and will care for its update by
the different governmental units (f) Citizens willing to do so
will receive an electronic identity device that will enable him
to access to governmental services that demand identification
using advanced technologies.
Preparation of Israel to the Information Age demands well defined rules of conduct adequate to the new environment. Legislation should be prepared, legislated and enforced in the following issues: (a) To complete the legislation of the Law of Freedom of Information (b) Enforcement of the Protection of Privacy Law through the enactment of directives concerning the maintaining and safeguard of information and the establishment of a unit for the supervision of databases (c) To set up the obligatory legal framework for the use of electronic identification means and their verification (d) To establish electronic documents and files as evidence acceptable according to the judiciary evidence rules, for tax purposes, register etc. (e) Complementary legislation regarding copyright rights and intellectual property and organization of the legislation concerning electronic commerce (f) Detailed analysis of the criminal responsibility resulting from infractions carried out through information technologies and the consequent adequate legislation.
Communications Infrastructures and Regulation
The gist of the recommendations regarding the communication infrastructures is on privatization and competition. They recommend the implementation of the Brodet, Vax, Leon report for opening the market to competition. Additional recommendations the establishment standards and settlement policies allowing the establishment of regional networks; privatization as the main means of increasing the available connections with abroad and opening the internal market for data communications to every provider able to reach the consumer home including resale. Another recommendation asks for enlargint the spectrum available for civil applications and the provision of licenses for wireless data transmission.
The rational emphasizes the need to educate a new generation skilled in the use of IT. The recommendations focuses in the implementation of the Tomorrow '98 program for suitable provision of computers and communications infrrastructures to the schools and the adequate training of teachers. Other recommendations address the English language teaching; basic skills training for evey age level, for teacher trainees and in-service teachers; inclusion of IT among the baccaulerate examinations; preference to be given to vocational training for adults that include IT elements; the provision of free access to the contents and the databases developed in the frameworkd of the educational system.
Conditions should be created to ease the efficient meeting of buyers and sellers throught the national network. The recommendations address the need to establish an Authority for the identification of the sides to electronic commercial transactions (Trusted Third Party). Another recommendation address the need to update the Israeli legislation so as to enable the electronic register of contracts and transaction at a Cybernotary. The committee demands the liberalization of encryption technologies in concert of the concerned authorities. It recommends the immediate implementation of electronic commerce applications in the dealings of the government as a custormer of the private sector.
Databases are the tool through which it may be possible to implement The Freedom of Information Act regarding the right of the citizen to access information and the obligation of the government to provide it. The recommendations include: (a)The Government will establish, maintain and update databases accessible at the national network where the citizen will be able to get free basic information renouncing its copyrights; fees based additional information should also be offered. (b) Databases developed through government grants should be offered free to the public. (c) A National Steering Committeee for Databases should establish principles and standars for databases management (d) Every public authority will nominate an officer responsible for setting information for the public and to fill requests for information resulting from the Freedom of Information Act. (e) The government should establish a National Digital Library; the Press Act should be ammended so that the present obligation to provide a printed copy of the publications also the obligation to provide a digital copy. (f) The government will enforce the precepts of the Protection of Privacy Law regarding the full registration of public databases in Israel.
The task force focused on the need of interventions aimed at assuring users may verify the source of the information and that the information received is identical to the information sent; on the consequences of the legal situation on the capabilities to develop information protection devices; to guarantee the security of the the information systems in the government. The main recommendations are: (a) To update the ordinance concerning encoding devices in three phases to adapt it to the new economic and business environment (b) To establish a National Authority for Data Protection or to enlarge the scope of action of the present Unit for Data Protection at the P.M. Office under the principle that the Unit should provide maximun information to the public and at the same time protect the Governmental Information System. (c) To budget the necessary stanrdization acivites necessary for data protection and in particular the Israeli Standards: 4283 (Data Protection in Communication Infrastructures) and parts 4,6,7 of Standard 1495 (Data Security in Computerized Systems (d) To establish and budget an overall governmental body similar to the CERT for reaction against menaces to the national information system. (e) The government should initiate the training of adequate manpower for data security.
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(a)The government should adopt the relevant standards for supporting Hebrew (RFC2070, Israeli Standard 1753 and directionality Unicode 2.0) and guarantee that every contract with IT providers demand the support of these standards (b) Development open and general routines for Hebrew support to be included in the different IT products with Hebrew fonts (c) To budget through the National Committee for IT Infrastructures initiatives for the development of basic software and presentation for the implementation of IT in Hebrew; these tools should be freely available to the public including the sources (d) In the governmental contracts for network based applications preference should be given for those were Hebrew support conforms to the standards and is not system dependent.
The Jewish People in the Diaspora
The new information technologies enable the
development of new relationships with the people in the Diaspora.
Among the recommendations of the task force: (a) The
establishment of a Virtual Jewish University (b) The teaching of
the Hebrew Language using the new communications technologies (c)
The provision of information for potential touristsand immigrants
(d) Joint activities mediated by IT in areas like culture,
economy and business (e) The development of personal
relationships between youth in Israel and the Diaspora.
6.2.1 Government (national, regional, local)
Following the recommendations of the Eitan Committee in July 1997 the Ministry of Finances was established the project TEHILA (acronym for Governmental Infrastructure for the Internet Age). This is a joint initiative of Mr. Yitzhak Klein, head ot the Government Internet Committee and substitute to the General Accountant in the Ministry of Financeand Mr. Yitzhak Cohen, senior vice General Accountant and head of the Informatin Systems in the Ministry of Finances. Among the initiatives of the project:
(a ) Establishment of an high security Server's Farm for hosting governmental Web sites (b) Training for Government Officers for preparing a cadre of Webmasters and Information Specialists (c) Publication of general documents and instructions for the ministries on matters like establishing sites; information technologies and computing; preparations for the year 2000; Outsourcing; data protection; legal documents and counseling (d) Establishment of the IT Policy site (e) Tenders were published for Hebrew supported email systems; for a search engine supporting Hebrew; for external services of support in the establishment and maintenance of governmental sites (f) Establishment of the Government Portal setting up uniform access to all governmental sites (g) Exemplary projects: encouragement of government units to propose special exemplary Internet projects for budgeting (h) Data security: development of the awareness of data security demands among government officers (I) Survey of users: the unit will carry out a survery of the users of the Internet in Israel in cooperation with the Central Bureau of Statistics to evaluate the population characteristics for better plan the government activities in this area.
Among other issues being dealt by the IT Policy group: Standards, Problems of Ethics, Government Accessibility, Domain Name registration under the gov.il .
The framework for Israeli policy in the area of education for the Information Society was wet up by the Harari Report that resulted in the Tomorrow '98 project implemented since 1994 to improve the quality of science and technology education offered to children in Israel . The committee established in 1990 and headed by Prof. Haim Harari, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science. One of the four sections of the report included recommendations on "Computers as teaching aids in all subjects". Among its specific recommendations:
1. Today, knowledge of science and technology is the most important economic asset.
2. Today - and even more in the future - mathematics, science and technology are part ot the general education required of every contributing member of the society.
5. The teacher plays a central role in science and technology instruction.
Recommendations: ... computers should be intensively integrated into the teacher training process, in all disciplines and at all age-levels of the education system; ...
7. The computer is an extremely important teaching tool in all subjects, at all age-levels.
Recommendations: Computers should be introduced into all educational institutions, at all levels and in all subjects. This large-scale campaign should include purchasing equipment, developing educational software packages, instructing teachers, and establishing expanding support centers for teachers. The computer will be integrated as a teaching aid in the curriculum; hands-on use of computers will be encouraged in training new teachers in all subjets; an extensive series of in-service training workshops will be conducted on the subject of integrating the computer into teaching.
The implementation of the Harari Report began in 1994 at the time that the Israeli economy experienced an extraordinary expansion resulting from the absorption of a massive immigration from the former Soviet Union. The new priorities of the government were expressed in an extraordinary increase of the budget dedicated to education, well over the real increase in the school population.
The aim was set to reach a proportion of one computer for every 10 students in the system and in 1998 about half of the educational system reached this standard.
Several large programs were developed among them the National Network for Teacher Education Colleges (MACAM98) by the Mofet Institute and the Directorate for for Education and Teachers Training (Dr Sara Ziv); the Snunit Program at the Hebrew University (Dudu Rashty and Prof. Nava Ben-Zvi); regional educational networks and innovative projects in the North and South regions (Tzfonet and Madarom); intensive programs for pre-service and in-service training of teachers; regional centers for logistic and pedagogical support for schools, teachers and students and many more.
The budgeting model for the computerization included investments of the order of 50 million dollars a year with the participation in equal parts of the Ministry of Education Culture and Sports, the National Lottery and the Local Government. The program was run by an special administration, the Tomorrow '98 Administration.
A tender was issued and completed in 1998 by the Directorate for Information Systems of the Ministry of Education for the establishment of the administrative and the pedagogical networks servicing the educational system. The winner of the tender, the Kishurim Consortium (composed by Bynet, Tadiran and Internet Zahav) has at this time well advanced the connection of schools to the Internet having reached 700 schools connected by Frame Relay and another 680 by dial up. This project complement several private and public initiatives that have been connecting schools to the Internet.
With the conclusion of the first phase of
the Tomorrow '98 program the second phase of the computerization
of the education system has been started this year. The same
order of magnitude of investments is maintained although the
administrative model changed and the National Lottery is running
directly the tender for equipment; the Ministry of Education,
through the Directorate for Science and Technology (Director
Yaffa Vigodsky) and the Chief Inspector for Computers
Applications in Education (Roni Dayan) are running the
pedagogical and training aspects of the program.
Demonstration Projects in the Super Highway of Information
The National Committee for Information Technologies Infrastructures headed by Prof. Danny Dolev and operating within the Ministry of Science launched a program aimed at the demonstration of the feasibility and the value of IT projects for the Society at large. The program which ran from 1996 to 1998 and among the projects supported were the following:
The Central Bureau of Statistics Databases and Web Site: A very successful project that puts a large amount of updated statistical information within the reach of every citizen; data offered as finished reports and Excel tables to be directly downloaded to the users PC for further analysis. Intelligent Information Retrieval in an Open System : Adaptation and localization of the Harvest search system to the use of Hebrew and its application in an innovative school project (Bar Ilan University/Gilo Highschool). Historical Resources Online: Modern Jewish and Israeli History in the Internet: a project by the Humanities Computing Initiative of the Tel-Aviv University putting several digital libraries, among them the Palestine Post (1939-48) facsimile digital library for public access (Dr Ron Zweig). The Ramat HaNegev Freenet: A community networking project with educational components in the Southern Region. Research and Development Projects in Israel - Tel Aviv University: A prototype for a database of RD Activities and Researchers in Israel by the Interdisciplinary Center for Technological Analysis and Forecasting. Computer Network-based Learning in a Science and Technology Virtual Park: A three dimensional application for science teaching including a virtual learning environment focused on Galileo by the Knowledge Technology Lab at Tel-Aviv University. The Virtual School for Science/Technology/ Society - The Hebrew University (Snunit) by Prof. Navah Ben-Zvi. From Text-Based Learning to Interactive Computer Communicated Learning: A Distance Learning Environment developed by the Open University Center for Design of Distance Teaching Methods (Prof.Michal Beller). An Online Information System in the Internet for the Citizen Advisory Service by Dr Sheizaf Rafaeli. Geobase: A Geo-Statistical Database of Israel on the Internet by the Michal Peleg and Dr Ronen Kadmon of the Hebrew University. Inter-Job-Net - A Database for High Tech Occupational Opportunities in Israel: Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, Dr Jacob Richman. This project become a successful running service .The Maalot Tarshiha Web Community Project by the David Gur of the Ma'a lot Tarshiha Local Council.
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