Many public goods now administered by civilian ministries were historically provided by quasi-governmental organizations.Arian, Asher. “Politics in Israel: The Second Republic.” CQ Press. pp. 364-366. 2nd Edition. 2005. The largest and most influential of these groups was the Histadrut, a cohort of trade unions established as a means of furthering the Zionist movement. In the years after Israel’s independence, the size and complexity of the state increased alongside the population and economy.Rivlin, Paul. “The Israeli Economy from the Foundation of the State through the 21st Century.” Cambridge University Press. 2011. Over time, the Histadrut was unable to keep pace with country’s rate of growth and changing public attitudes about the competency of the Labor party. This led to reductions in state subsidies and financial insolvency for many Histadrut-backed firms. Eventually, a combination of dwindling public support and poor management made it impossible to finance and operate large-scale services.
