Israel’s 34th Government is expected to be sworn into office on Thursday evening 25 Iyar. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday held talks with a number of faction members as he is deciding who will fill the various vacant ministerial slots. The prime minister is keeping his decisions to himself until the last moment.
First out of Mr. Netanyahu’s office was Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, who landed the first slot in the party’s primaries. Erdan expects a more senior post in the incoming administration but in all likelihood, he will be disappointed. He is offered to serve as both Minister of the Interior and Minister of Energy & Water. Erdan rejected the offer, asking for the Interior and Public Security Ministries, explaining this is an acceptable combination in many countries in the world and the combining of the two would permit him to succeed in his post. Netanyahu however did not agree and the two agreed to meet again.
The prime minister then met with Yisrael Katz who was informed he will continue serving as Minister of Transportation along with Minister of Intelligence and a seat in the Security Cabinet.
Miri Regev was next to meet with the prime minister but it remains unclear what post she will receive.
The new government is set to be sworn in at 19:00. The session will begin with an address from the prime minister, who will present his cabinet. Opposition leader MK Yitzchak Herzog’s address will follow.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
A Gov’t ought to greater than the sum of it’s parts.
On the Economic Front :
a)Freeing up lands from the ILA for massive housing construction
b)Breaking up the cartels and monopolies
c)apportioning the revenue from the offshore oilfields for the greater good
d)The latest report that cites there are 2.5 million Israelis living under the poverty line.
On the the ‘Draft’ Front:
Everyone will appreciate if the Draft is shortened in a gradual plan.
Ariel Sharon proposed to Ben Gurion in 1959
to significantly shorten of conscription !!
(Lapid ym”sh also recommended to cut the Draft from 3 to 2.5 years.)
Possible Plan:
2017:Draft will be cut to 2.5 years.
Potentially
2019: Draft will be cut to 2 years(equal to the women)
Potentially
2020: Draft will be cut 17 months (equal to Hesder)
Obviously on the Religious and Security Fronts.
On the Security Front:
On a Security Front”
Dr M Kedar’s 8 Emirates Plan, if feasible, ought to be attempted
Gaza is already one tribal Emirate
The West Bank ,consisting of 7 leading Clans/Tribes, could somehow divided also..
plus
– addressing the deteriorating situation in Sinai and a possible breach of the peace treaty by Egypt
– coping with developments in Syria
Most Importantly,all changes ought to be embedded into solid ground,to stop a later Gov’t from easily overturning them
On the Religious Front:
The time has come to deal with the issue of the Jewish character of the State of Israel, and to regulate the fundamental principles underlying the status-quo in legislation.
Some people maintain that Israeli society is gradually distancing itself from the religious principles that guided the individuals who fixed the status-quo, and in our day and age, it is no longer fitting to impose religious practices by means of legislation, as in the past. However, taking a look at the list of the new Knesset, it is evident that the process is exactly the opposite – society at large understands the need to strengthen the Jewish identity of the State, and the various political parties complied with their wishes by adding religious candidates to their ranks.
Regulating the Jewish Identity of the State in ‘Basic Law’
The time has come to pass a ‘chok yesod’ (Basic Law) regulating the status of Shabbat observance in all government and public frameworks. It is inconceivable that Shabbat, a value so central to the life of our nation, receives expression simply in interim agreements, or municipal bylaws. Just as the value of ‘kavod adam v’heruto’ (human dignity and liberty) is regulated in ‘Basic Law’, and not dependent on the goodwill of each and every decent and moral individual, so too, Shabbat must be regulated in ‘Basic Law’.
Presently existing laws concerning the status of marriage and divorce, according to which family relationships or their annulment are determined by ‘halakha’ (Jewish law) in Rabbinical courts, should also receive the superior status of ‘Basic Law’. After doing so, solutions can be found for personal and exceptional issues in various regulations, but such issues cannot interfere with the State of Israel regulating the sanctity of the family in ‘Basic Law’.
The well-known ‘Law of Return’ must also be regulated as a ‘Basic Law’, seeing as it is one of the most distinct signs of the State’s Jewish identity, and because it is not a ‘Basic Law’, the Supreme Court gnaws away at, it in the name of democracy.
The observance of ‘kashrut’ (Jewish dietary laws) in government and public institutions should also be regulated in ‘Basic Law’.
Some people claim it is preferable for all religious matters to be left to freedom of choice.
By nature, all public interests are burdensome on the individual to some extent. Nevertheless, everyone understands that when it comes to essential interests, it is necessary to regulate them in law, and not leave them to the free choice of each individual.
Education as well cannot function simply according to the absolute freedom of choice of parents. Therefore, anyone who cares about the Jewish identity of the State of Israel, must act to regulate its’ Jewish principles in Basic Laws.