M A M L A K H T I Y

Its focus, however, is on state funding as a key element of the authorities’ involvement in the cultural domain, exemplified chiefly in the relationship between the state, as the financial prop of cultural institutions and artistic activity, and freedom of expression in culture and the arts, and the tension between the two. [...] The recommendations, which are addressed to the government and to civic bodies and cultural institutions, are presented in four groups: (1) Recommendations that focus on the importance of an ongoing public discussion of culture and the arts and the existence of a culture policy, and propose that they focus on the main issues, as follows: the essence of the right to culture; the role of the governm. [...] (3) Recommendations to boost the status of the Israel Arts Council in matters of cultural policy and revising its activities so that they comply with the principles mandated by the essence of culture and the arts, because of the importance of maintaining the arm’s length principle in that domain, as is standard in other countries with a similar regime. [...] These recommendations consist of recommendations for the short term, as part of the institutional configuration and structure of the authority that exist today, the Israel Council for Culture and the Arts; and recommendations for the middle term, which presume a reform in the institutional structure, status, and powers of the Israel Council for Culture and the Arts. [...] These recommendations are meant to guarantee a better fit in the relations between the authorities and the domain of culture; to provide an appropriate response to society’s needs and to the development of the field; to enhance the Council’s independence, professionalism, and public obligation to its mission; and to ensure the representation of various sectors of Israeli society and the expansion.