In Israel, we are quick to criticize and slow to praise, but where credit is due – whether for something positive or negative – it should be given.
Bureaucracy is one of the most common bugbears, and constant proof that a chain is as strong as its weakest link.
All one needs to downgrade any office is a surly clerk or secretary who is loathe to do anything helpful for someone on the other side of the desk.
When the opposite occurs, it is almost a pleasure to go to some place where one might ordinarily prefer not to be.
Peace and harmony at the Jerusalem court
A case in point is the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, known in Hebrew as Beit Hamishpat Hashalom. And indeed, it is a place of peace and harmony.
KIRYAT MENACHEM’S sole post office has closed (Illustrative). (credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON/FLASH90)Unlike so many government and other offices, one does not have to make an appointment in advance, but one should be aware that services are only provided till 1:30 p.m. These include, inter alia, community services, apostilles, and issues related to people in prison.
Security personnel at the entrance to the building are pleasant, polite, helpful, and even friendly. They also point people in the right direction.
The attitude is contagious. Members of the public are also helpful and polite. These days, to take a number to be in line, one doesn’t pull a chit from a paper roll on a stand. Today, it’s all electronic, and it includes the service that the person taking a number requires. But technology is problematic – not only because it relies on electricity, a generator, a battery, or some other form of energy. In my case, there’s an added aggravation because my fingerprints do not always register, nor do my fingers tapping on a keyboard or a screen.
Thus during a recent visit to the Magistrates Court for the purpose of getting an apostille on a legal document, I was frustrated by my inability to type my ID number. It stopped after the fourth digit. Someone waiting behind me offered to help. But initially, it wasn’t working for him either. Another man came up and offered to help and after several tries, they finally succeeded and all three of us were delighted with our triumph.
On the wall in the waiting area, there is a large screen listing the services, the number of people who are waiting, and which number is next in line for each service. When a number comes up, to signify someone’s turn, it is broadcast and shown in a larger font and a different color on the screen.
Unlike the postal services, people were being processed very quickly, efficiently and pleasantly.
Everyone was being so nice and courteous, that it was simply a pleasure to be there.
A place like that is visited by every strata of society, and everyone seems to get along, despite their differences. No one is hurling insults or practicing incitement, nor are there raised voices.
It’s an example worth following.
